Migraine history and migraine-induced stroke in the Dijon stroke registry

Two thousand three hundred and eighty-nine patients with first-ever stroke were registered in the population-based Dijon Stroke Registry over an 11-year period. There was a history of migraine in 49 cases (2%), with a majority of women (2.8% versus 1.1% men) with the following distribution: 27 cases among 1,380 large-artery cerebral infarctions (1.9%), 6 cases among 358 small-artery cerebral infarctions (1.6%), 6 cases among 412 cerebral infarctions due to cardiac embolism (1.4%), 7 cases among 191 cerebral hemorrhages (3. 6%) and 3 cases among 47 subarachnoid hemorrhages (6.3%). The male/female ratio was 0.58 for the 49 strokes with a history of migraine versus 1.27 for the 2,340 strokes with no history of migraine. Twelve migraine-induced ischemic strokes occurred with an infarction of the posterior area of the brain in young patients. The annual incidence was 0.80/100,000/year (confidence interval, CI = 0. 37-1.57) with a predominance of women (1.02/100,000/year, CI = 0. 52-1.25; men: 0.57/100,000/year; CI = 0.28-1.04). We conclude that a history of migraine is more frequent in women, in particular in those with hemorrhagic strokes, and that the incidence of migraine-induced stroke in our population-based study is higher in women, although it remains low.