Association between Raynaud's phenomenon and migraine in a random population of hospital employees.

Abstract

To determine the relationship between migraine and Raynaud's phenomenon. A detailed headache questionnaire was completed by 41 subjects with Raynaud's phenomenon identified in a random survey of hospital employees and by a group matched for age and sex without Raynaud's phenomenon. The prevalence of migraine was increased significantly in the group with Raynaud's phenomenon compared with the control group (24/41, 58.5% vs 10/41, 24.4%; p = 0.002). This result agrees with findings in hospital-based studies of patients with Raynaud's phenomenon. The prevalence of migraine is significantly increased in subjects with Raynaud's phenomenon, suggesting that these conditions may share a common pathogenetic defect or mechanism.