Variations in Symptomatology of Migraine Among Local Population of Pakistan

Abstract

Introduction: Migraine is considered one of the most disabling neurological disorders worldwide. Migraine has recently been shown to effect population with a severe cascade of symptoms. With still a huge gap in understanding of pathogenesis of migraine, knowledge regarding migraine symptomatology is mandatory for effective diagnosis and treatment.

Aims & Objectives: To compare symptoms of migraine between two groups migraineurs (M) and migraineurs with high blood pressure (MBP).

Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute, Department of Physiology and Lahore General Hospital, from January 2015 to June 2015.

Material & Methods: It was a cross-sectional comparative study. The study population was 35 diagnosed migraine patients (M) and 29 migraine patients with high blood pressure (MBP). Patients were questioned about various migraine symptoms based on the standard criteria for diagnosing migraine and the responses were recorded in written on a predesigned proforma. Collected data was studied and interpreted by using SPSS 23 , p value ? 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: Symptoms of migraine were compared between two groups, migraineurs (M) and migraineurs with high blood pressure (MBP). The mean age of the patients was 25±7years in migraineurs (M) and 38±6 years in migraineurs with high blood pressure (MBP). The incidence of vomiting was significantly higher in patients who had both migraine and high BP, (p-value = 0.008). Collected data was studied and interpreted by using SPSS 23. The difference in the rest of the symptoms was nonsignificant between the two groups studied by using One Way Anova and T-test frequency and percentages. Chi- square test was applied using cross-tabulation to check the association of family history of migraine which was statistically non-significant.

Conclusion: Migraine is a female dominant disorder mostly affecting people in their 30's. There was no significant difference in major diagnostic migraine symptoms in both groups. However, among minor diagnostic symptoms, the frequency of vomiting was higher in patients with migraine with high BP.