Key result
Halving monthly headache days is linked to ~70% higher odds of reducing SBP.
Why the study?
Whether blood pressure per se correlates with headache frequency in migraine was uncertain.
Is systolic blood pressure correlated with headache frequency in newly diagnosed migraine patients?
Observational (n=441)
No
Is systolic blood pressure correlated with headache frequency in newly diagnosed migraine patients?
Systolic blood pressure is positively correlated with headache frequency in migraine patients, suggesting that BP reduction may parallel improvements in migraine frequency.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Hypothesis-generating link between migraine relief and BP reduction; requires prospective confirmation before any clinical consideration.
Background Whether blood pressure (BP) per secorrelateswith headache frequencyinmigraineis uncertain. Methods Newly diagnosed migrainepatients withoutanti-hypertensive or migraine preventive treatmentwere prospectively enrolled.Standardized BPmeasurementwas doneat each visit. Patientswere dichotomized bythe overall arithmetic mean of baseline systolic BPs (SBPs).Correlationsbetween baseline SBPs and monthly headache days (MHDs),based on prospective headache diaries,weredetermined.Participants were treated as usualfor 3 months. The associationsbetweenchanges (Δ) inBP andin MHDat 3 monthswere examined. Results In total, 441 (344F/97M, mean age 39.1±10.3 years) migraine patients were analyzed, including 197 (44.7%) with above-average SBPs, i.e. ≥120.1 mmHg. There were significant correlations between SBPs and MHDs at baseline (Spearman’s rho=0.181, p=0.012) and between ΔSBPs and ΔMHDs at3months (Spearman’s rho=0.257, p<0.001) in patients with above-average SBPs. In addition, a≥50% MHD improvement increased the odds for5-mmHgSBP reductionsat 3 months(odds ratio=1.70, 95% confidence interval=1.05-2.76, p=0.032). Conclusions SBP was associated with headache frequency in migraine patients and the association was stronger in those with higher SBP. The improvement in headache frequency paralleled that in SBP, although the underlying mechanisms remain to be determined.
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Wang et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Migraine (n=441). ≥50% improvement in monthly headache days vs. <50% improvement in monthly headache days was evaluated on 5-mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure at 3 months (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.05-2.76, p=0.032). In newly diagnosed migraine patients, a ≥50% improvement in monthly headache days was associated with significantly increased odds of achieving a 5-mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure at 3 months (OR 1.70).
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