Is iron-deficiency anemia associated with migraine? Is there a role for anxiety and depression?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In this study, we determined the frequency of migraine headache in iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) patients and whether it was related to anxiety, depression, and somatization. METHODS: We included 127 consecutive IDA patients into the study. All patients were asked validated questions about headache and migraine face-to-face. They were administered validated questionnaires for anxiety-depression The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and somatization. The quality of life (QoL) disturbance associated with headache was marked on a 0-10 VAS. RESULTS: Of all IDA patients, 79.5 % defined headache at any time of their life. In addition, 36.2 % of all IDA patients defined the criteria for migraine. IDA patients with migraine were more frequently smokers and had significantly lower hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume values (p values < 0.05). The IDA group with migraine had significantly higher mean anxiety score (p = 0.046) and headache-related QoL disturbance score (p = 0.021) than the IDA group without migraine. Migraine patients with aura had lower hemoglobin values (p = 0.02), higher depression scores (p = 0.005), and higher migraine-related QoL disturbance scores than others. CONCLUSIONS: IDA patients have a high frequency of migraine headache. The presence of anxiety and depression have great influence on the presence of migraine in IDA patients.