AAN: Migraine in Iraq Vets a Marker for Psychiatric Disorders

Neil Osterweil
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Consider screening combat veterans with migraine for co-morbid psychiatric disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or anxiety.
This study was published as an abstract and presented as a poster and in a briefing at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication

BOSTON, May 3 -- Migraine headaches among veterans of combat in Iraq indicate a more than twofold risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety, reported military researchers.

Half of all soldiers returning from the conflict in Iraq who reported having migraine were also found to have depression, compared with 27% of those without migraine, said Major Jay C. Erickson, M.D., Ph.D., of the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.

Moreover, Dr. Erickson said in a briefing at the American Academy of Neurology meeting here, 58% of all combat vets with migraine had one or more symptoms suggestive of a psychiatric disorder.

"We believe this study is unique in two ways," he said. "It is the first to examine the co-occurrence of migraine and psychiatric conditions in a military population. In addition, we think it may be the first study in any population to establish a link between migraine and post-traumatic stress disorder."

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5