"Atopy Patients Have Up to 1.6 Times Higher Risk of Migraine Occurrence"

A study has found that patients with atopic diseases have a higher risk of developing migraines. This is significant as it demonstrates the correlation between atopic diseases and migraines in Koreans based on the population of South Korea.

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The research team led by Professors Park Young-min and Han Joo-hee from the Department of Dermatology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, confirmed this by tracking the occurrence of migraines in patients with atopic diseases (atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis) over 10 years, the team announced on the 10th.

Using the National Health Insurance Service database, the research team followed over 3.6 million patients aged 20 and above who underwent health checkups from January to December 2009, tracking the incidence of migraines in patients with atopic diseases until 2019.

To evaluate the risk of migraine occurrence, Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed, and multivariable analysis compared each group with the control group. The results showed that patients with atopic dermatitis had a 1.28 times higher risk, asthma patients had a 1.32 times higher risk, and allergic rhinitis patients had a 1.45 times higher risk of developing migraines.

Furthermore, patients with only one atopic disease had a 1.43 times higher risk, those with two diseases had a 1.50 times higher risk, and those with three diseases had a 1.64 times higher risk of migraines. This confirmed that the presence of atopic diseases significantly increases the risk of migraine occurrence compared to the control group without atopic diseases.

Professor Park Young-min explained, "This study clarifies the controversial correlation between atopic diseases and migraines by utilizing large-scale data from the National Health Insurance Service, which contains health information of the entire Korean population. It revealed that patients with atopic diseases have an increased risk of migraine occurrence, and the risk increases with the number of coexisting atopic diseases."

Professor Han Joo-hee analyzed, "Although the exact pathogenesis of migraines in patients with atopic diseases has not been clearly identified, the inflammatory environments of atopic diseases and migraines are similar, and they share common risk factors and comorbidities related to mental illnesses such as depression. Therefore, it appears that these two conditions are correlated."

This study was published in the January issue of 'AAIR (Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research, IF=5.096),' a prestigious English-language journal in the field of asthma and allergy published in South Korea.

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