Clinical Features of Migraine: A Cross-Sectional Study in Patients Aged Three to Sixty-Nine

Abstract

We investigated 260 consecutive patients classified as migraine cases aged 3-69 at two tertiary headache centres, one for children and adolescents and the other for adults to evaluate the relationship between age and clinical features of migraine cross-sectionally. We only included subjects with definite migraine without or with aura and we excluded subjects with coexisting tension-type headache, medication overuse and/or other clinically relevant disorders. The percentage of males decreased markedly from childhood to adulthood and this affected the evaluation of age-related changes in male patients, as only large differences reached the level of statistical significance. In females, the headache duration and the prevalence of unilateral, pulsating pain, photophobia and phonophobia increased, whereas the prevalence of aggravation by physical activity decreased with age. In conclusion, this cross-sectional, clinic-based study on a strictly defined sample of 260 consecutive patients with definite migraine covering a wide range of age from the very young to the old suggests marked age-related differences of the clinical features of migraine in females and failed to demonstrate similar differences in males due to the small number of adult male migraineurs.

Prevalence of Migraine in the Elderly: A Narrated Review

“…Interestingly, the clinical characteristics of migraine change with age [16] and as comorbidities increase [11]. In a study of 260 consecutive patients with migraine, ranging in age from 3 to 69 years, marked differences in clinical features were observed with age [17]. The percentage of males with migraine decreased markedly from childhood to adulthood.…”

Age-related prevalence and features of migraine headache in Hungarian schoolchildren and adolescents

“…The same group reported changes in symptoms nearly identical with our experiences in the much wider age range of 3e69-year-old female migraineurs. 42 All these results reveal a fairly congruent tendency of the changes in the prevalence of migraine features in children (Table 5). …”

Specific features of migraine syndrome in children

“…Distinct pain location in migraine headaches is (p<0.0001) connected with the age of the children and their ability to interpret it [14]. Wöber-Bingöl et al [15] found in 260 consecutive patients aged 3-69 that headache duration and the prevalence of unilateral, pulsating pain, photophobia and phonophobia increased in females, whereas the prevalence of aggravation by physical activity decreased with age.…”

“…Wöber-Bingöl [15] found that intensity of pain, aggravation of headache by physical activity, nausea and vomiting were the most important features, and the quality of pain, photo-and phonophobia were less helpful in the differential diagnosis of migraine and tension-type headache.…”