Prevalence and characteristics of headache attributed to ingestion or inhalation of a cold stimulus (HICS): A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Headache attributed to ingestion or inhalation of a cold stimulus (HICS), colloquially called ice-cream headache, is a common form of a primary headache in adults and children. However, previous studies on adults are limited due to the small number of patients. Furthermore, most of the subjects in previous studies had a history of other primary headaches. Methods Biographic data, clinical criteria of HICS and prevalence of primary headache were collected by a standardized questionnaire. A total of 1213 questionnaires were distributed; the return rate was 51.9% (n = 629); 618 questionnaires could be analyzed. Results In a cohort of 618 people aged between 17–63 years (females: n = 426, 68.9%), the prevalence of HICS was 51.3% (317 out of 618). There was no difference between men and women (51.3% vs. 51.6%). The duration of HICS was shorter than 30 sec in 92.7%. In the HICS group, localization of the pain was occipital in 17%. Trigemino-autonomic symptoms occurred in 22%, and visual phenomena (e.g. flickering lights, spots or lines) were reported by 18% of the HICS group. The pain intensity, but not the prevalence of HICS, was higher when tension-type headache and migraine or both were present as co-morbid primary headaches (Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 4.58 and 6.54, p = 0.006). There was no higher risk of participants with migraine getting HICS than for those who did not have migraine (odds ratio = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75–1.83; p = 0.496). Conclusion The results of this study modified the current criteria for HICS in the ICHD-3 regarding duration and localization. In addition, accompanying symptoms in about one fifth of the participants are not mentioned in the ICHD-3. Neither migraine nor tension-type headache seems to be a risk factor for HICS. However, accompanying symptoms in HICS are more frequent in subjects with another primary headache than in those without such a headache.

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“…This also accounts for the CPEO subgroup with numerically even a higher rate of nearly 50%. Previous studies reported slightly lower rates but these were still higher than in the general population [15,16]. Thus, migraine can be regarded as a frequent headache subtype of CPEO patients with single and multiple deletions.…”

Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 is required for nitroglycerin- and calcitonin gene-related peptide–induced migraine-like pain behaviors in mice

“…46 Finally, a recent report found that although there was not a greater risk of migraineurs getting HICS, pain intensity was higher when tension-type headaches and migraines were present. 41 Although the underlying mechanisms of HICS are unclear, it is likely to involve TRPM8, and the above observations suggest that there may be a corollary between cold and migraine pain.…”

Seltene primäre Kopfschmerzen

“…von einigen Sekunden bis einigen Minuten [37]. Zwei epidemiologische Studien fanden, dass etwa 75% der betroffenen Menschen berichten, dass der Kopfschmerz weniger als 30 s anhält [37]. Bei 10% der Patienten dauert der Kopfschmerz länger als 5 min.…”