Childhood adversity, including abuse, neglect, and exposure to household dysfunction, is associated with migraine and biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation, and oxidative stress in premenopausal women, according to research published in the April 25 online issue of Headache.
Approximately 71% of migraineurs reported having experienced childhood adversity, compared with 46% of controls. Average scores on a survey of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were higher among patients with migraine than among controls. Among migraineurs, ACE scores were higher for patients with chronic, continuous, and transformed migraine.
Women who reported adversity were more likely to have biomarkers indicating coagulation, such as elevated von Willebrand factor activity, said Gretchen E. Tietjen, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurology at the University of Toledo in Ohio. Biomarkers indicating inflammation (eg, elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) and oxidative stress (eg, low nitrite concentration) also were more frequent among women reporting adversity.
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