What is migraine?
News from science
Triggers
Our opinion
Migraine diary
Links
Home (eng)
To Danish siteNews from science - Older peoples migraine
Click on the topic you want to read:| Migraine changes with age |
| Elderly migraineurs often have low blood pressure |
| Older peoples’ migraine |
Migraine changes with age
169 women and 91 men were asked about the symptoms they had during attacks. The patients were grouped into: children (less than 15 years old), young (15 – 40 years old) and older (more than 40 years old).Women of all groups had on average 1 attack per week while men had more attacks with increasing age (from ½ to two attacks per week). Both men and women had longer-lasting attacks when they were older (mainly because the children had attacks that didn’t last long). Women had an increased tendency towards photophobia and phonophobia with increasing age.
C. Wöber-Bingöl, C. Wöber, A. Karwautz, A. Auterith, M. Serim, K. Zebenholzer, K. Aydinkoc, C. Kienbacher, C. Wanner and P. Wessely, 2004. Clinical features of migraine: a cross-sectional study in patients aged three to sixty-nine. Cephalalgia 24, 12-17.
Uploaded 02-03-2005
Elderly migraineurs often have low blood pressure
It has been stated often that migraine is connected to high blood pressure. French researchers examined 1,140 migraineurs and 746 control persons between 59 and 71 years old. They found that the migraineurs generally had a lower blood pressure than the control group. This was NOT because the migraineurs drank more alcohol, were more depressed or had used blood pressure medications.C. Tzourio, B. Gagnière, M. El Amrani, A. Alpérovitch and M.G. Bousser, 2003. Relationship between migraine, blood pressure and carotid thickness. A population-based study in the elderly. Cephalalgia 23, 914-920.
Uploaded 3-3-2005
Older peoples’ migraine
We often hear that migraine disappears as we grow older. But some people still have attacks even at a high age.129 women and 34 men aged 61-79 years were asked about their migraine attacks.
Their answers showed that 38% of the older migraineurs had had their migraine since they were young (at least since they were teenagers). 49% had first had migraine when they were between 18 and 40 years old.
The elderly peoples’ attacks were not ‘straight out of the book’, for they had a tendency to lose some of the usual symptoms. One third did not have nausea, photophobia, phonophobia or they did not experience increased pain when they were physically active. Older migraineurs with aura had only a few attacks (maximum 3 per month), while migraineurs without aura had many attacks (60% had more than two attacks per week). Women were particularly badly affected. Half of the older migraineurs with aura said that they did not have headache, but ‘only’ had aura or other symptoms.
So we are not all lucky enough that our migraine will disappear as we age.
G. Mazzotta, V. Gallai, A. Alberti, A. M. R. Billeci, F. Coppola and P. Sarchielli, 2003. Characteristics of migraine in an out-patient population over 60 years of age. Cephalalgia 23, 953-960.
Uploaded 02-03-2005