Migraine and cerebral infarction in young people

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate relationship between migraine and cerebral infarction in young people. Patients aging 16-44 years, referred for stroke and age- and gender-matched controls were investigated for migraine following the International Headache Society criteria. Included people were 314 strokes and 314 controls. Each group consisted of 150 men and 164 women. Of the 105 persons with migraine (16.7%), 57 had migraine with aura (9.1%). In women, migraine with aura was related to stroke [35 women among strokes (21.3%) vs. 9 among controls (5.5%), P < 0.0001], whereas migraine without aura was not. After multivariate analysis, migraine with aura remained independently associated with stroke together with hypertension, and the estro-progestinic utilization. In men, migraine was not associated with stroke. In conclusion, migraine with aura appears to be associated with ischemic stroke in young women, independently from other common risk factors.