Do patients with migraine experience an increased prevalence of falls and fear of falling? A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of falls and fear of falling in patients with migraine compared with controls.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Tertiary headache clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

This study consisted of 105 controls and 105 consecutive patients diagnosed with migraine with aura (MA, n=35), migraine without aura (MO, n=35) and chronic migraine (CM, n=35).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients were interviewed using a questionnaire containing questions about the history of falls and impairment in balance, and completed the International Falls Efficacy Scale (FES-I). Groups were contrasted using Student's t-test and analysis of variance, and prevalence ratios were estimated.

RESULTS

Falls and self-reported impairment in balance are more prevalent in patients with migraine (54% and 69%, respectively) than in controls (2% and 2%, respectively). In particular, patients with CM and MA reported a greater mean number of falls during the previous year {CM 1.4 [standard deviation (SD) 2.2]; MA 2.2 (SD 2.3)} compared with patients with MO [0.5 (SD 1.0); P <0.04] and controls [0.05 (SD 0.2); P <0.002]. The prevalence ratio of falls was greater in patients with MA (7.2; P <0.002) and CM (4.5; P <0.002) compared with controls. Patients with migraine experienced a high level of concern about falls during their daily activities compared with controls (29.8 vs 20.1 points in the FES-I questionnaire; P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The balance impairment of patients with migraine may have a functional impact. Migraine is associated with risk of falling, and patients exhibit a higher prevalence of impairment in balance, falls and fear of falling.