The comorbidity of migraine and hypertension. A study in a tertiary care headache centre HEADACHE: CLINICAL A ND COMORBIDITY A SPECTS

Literature data concern- ing the comorbidity of migraine and hypertension are conflicting and lacking in consistency (1-4). This study was designed to evalu- ate the distribution of hypertension in a sample of migraineurs in com- parison with a group of tension- type headache (TTH) patients. Hypertension prevalence was more elevated in headache sufferers than in the general population. This finding might be due to a Berkson's bias; in fact individuals seeking medical care often show a high rate of association between two medical conditions which may be independent in the general pop- ulation (5). The highest hyperten- sion prevalence was found in patients with TTH, supporting the hypothesis that this type of headache might be based upon vascular mechanisms (6).