Association Between Migraine and Stroke in a Large-scale Epidemiological Study of the United States

Abstract

Our results strengthen previous evidence regarding a nonrandom association of both headache and migraine with stroke, particularly among young women. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic examination in a large-scale prospective epidemiological study of men and women with sufficient statistical power to test the association between migraine and stroke in women. Severe headache and migraine should be considered as risk factors for the development of stroke, particularly in the absence of other well-established stroke risk factors. Further investigation is required to identify the putative mechanisms underlying comorbidity of migraine and stroke.