Prevalence of migraine in patients of allergic rhinitis

Authors

  • Sunil Pai Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Mukka, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
  • David D. M. Rosario Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Mukka, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20184740

Keywords:

Allergic rhinitis, Allergic sensitisation, Migraine, Serum IgE

Abstract

Background: Migraine and allergic rhinitis are common disorders. Studies have shown increased frequency of migraine headaches in patients with allergic rhinitis. The aim of this study is to identify how age, sex and degree of allergic sensitization influences the occurrence, severity and treatment outcome of migraine headaches in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Methods: The study was conducted between 2014 and 2018 in a tertiary care hospital. 150 patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis clinically were selected and total serum IgE levels were estimated. These patients were subjected to a detailed history taking to determine the characteristics of headache. All classifiable headache diagnoses had met criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders-II-2004. Severity of headache was assessed based on MIDAS score. The data was accessed based on age, sex, serum IgE levels, frequency and severity of migraine attacks and the treatment outcome using statistical methods.

Results: The prevalence of migraine in this study was 68% among those who had allergic rhinitis. In this study out 150 patients 111 were females and 39 were males. Comparatively females’ patients 84 (75.7%) were found to be more prone for migraine. Majority patients were in the age group of 20 to 40 years (cumulative percentage of 67.3%). There was a negative correlation between age and IgE levels with r= -0.092. In comparison patients with higher levels of IgE (mean 3633) had more severe headaches. Patients with higher levels of IgE required a longer duration of treatment.

Conclusions: This study shows that allergic rhinitis is a risk factor for development of migraine. Apart from high prevalence of migraine in patients with allergic rhinitis it is evident from the study that female sex, younger age group and high degree of allergic sensitization also play an important role as the severity of migraine and treatment course depend on these parameters. Hence the treatment for migraine in patients should aim at reducing the allergic sensitization in addition to concurrent treatment for migraine.

References

Stewart WF, Lipton RB, Liberman J. Variation in migraine prevalence by race. Neurol. 1996 Jul 1;47(1):52-9.

Passali D, Cingi C, Staffa P, Passali F, Muluk NB, Bellussi ML. The International Study of the Allergic Rhinitis Survey: outcomes from 4 geographical regions. Asia Pacific Allergy. 2018 Jan 8;8(1).

Gryglas A. Allergic rhinitis and chronic daily headaches: is there a link?. Current Neurol Neurosc Reports. 2016 Apr 1;16(4):33.

Ku M, Silverman B, Prifti N, Ying W, Persaud Y, Schneider A. Prevalence of migraine headaches in patients with allergic rhinitis Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2006 Aug;97(2):226-30.

Sydbom A, Karlsson T. Relationship between serum IgE levels and anaphylactic histamine release from isolated rat mast cells. Acta Physiol Scand. 1979 Dec;107(4):313-8.

Headache Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society. The International Classification of Headache Disorders. 2nd ed. Cephalalgia. 2004;24(1):24-36.

Ahmad N, Zacharek MA. Allergic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2008 Apr 1;41(2):267-81.

Scarupa MD, Economides A, White MV, Kaliner MA. Rhinitis and rhinologic headaches. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2004 Mar-Apr; 25(2):101-5.

Prof. Dr. med. Ralph Mösges (University of Cologne) German survey; 1995.

Omenaas E, Bakke P, Elsayed S, Hanoa, Gulsvik A. Total and specific serum IgE levels in adults: relationship to sex, age and environmental factors. Clin Exp Allergy. 1994 Jun;24(6):530-9.

Borish L, Chipps B, Deniz Y, Gujrathi S, Zheng B, Dolan CM, et al. Total serum IgE levels in a large cohort of patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005 Sep 1;95(3):247-53.

Rosario D, Pinto G. Role of gender and serum immunoglobulin E(IgE) levels on severity of migraine. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Feb;8(2):57-8.

Kalra AA, Elliott D. Acute migraine: Current treatment and emerging therapies. Therapeutics Clinical Risk Management. 2007 Jun;3(3):449-59.

Downloads

Published

2018-11-26

How to Cite

Pai, S., & Rosario, D. D. M. (2018). Prevalence of migraine in patients of allergic rhinitis. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 6(12), 3903–3907. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20184740

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles