Burden of Disease, Lifestyle Factors in Adolescents Who Experience Episodic Migraine

A recent study evaluated burden of disease and lifestyle factors observed in adolescents and young adults diagnosed with frequent episodic migraine.

The researchers collected data from two previous studies on patients aged 15 to 35 years who reported 15 to 44 migraine episodes during a 12-week period. All participants completed the Migraine Disability Assessment and lifestyle questionnaire data.

There were 37 adults (median age, 25 years [interquartile range (IQR), 6] and 27 adolescents (median age, 15 years [IQR, 1]). Severe disability was much more prevalent among adults than adolescents (81% vs 16%; P<0.001), as were headache frequency (24 vs 17 days; P=0.005) and prevalence of regular analgesic use (60% vs 18%; P=0.002). Adults reported fewer hours of sleep on weekdays than adolescents and higher alcohol consumption, while adolescents had higher caffeine consumption.

The analysis was published in the Journal of Child Health Care.

“Educating those patients on an individual basis, considering as many aspects of their everyday life as possible, should be the goal of any healthcare provider in charge. Comprehensive medical programs for young adults suffering from migraine may achieve a high level of adherence by innovative approaches (i.e., telemedicine, remote electronic diaries, and smart device applications for lifestyle management),” the study authors concluded.