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The prognosis of childhood abdominal migraine
F Dignan1, I Abu-Arafeh, G Russell
1Department of Child Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland AB25 2ZD, UK.
Insights
Childhood abdominal migraine often resolves within 7-10 years. Many children diagnosed with abdominal migraine later develop headaches meeting International Headache Society criteria for migraine.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Neurology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Abdominal migraine is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of abdominal pain in children.
- The long-term clinical course and association with migraine headaches in adulthood are not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of childhood abdominal migraine.
- To assess the resolution rate of abdominal migraine and the subsequent development of migraine headaches.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study followed 54 children diagnosed with abdominal migraine for 7-10 years.
- Participants were identified through population surveys and hospital records.
- Outcomes included resolution of abdominal migraine and adherence to International Headache Society (IHS) criteria for migraine.
Main Results:
- Abdominal migraine resolved in 61% of cases within the follow-up period.
- Children with a history of abdominal migraine were significantly more likely to develop IHS-defined migraine headaches (70%) compared to controls (20%).
Conclusions:
- The findings support the classification of abdominal migraine as a precursor to migraine headaches.
- The study validates the diagnostic criteria used for abdominal migraine, indicating its clinical utility.
Aims:
To determine the clinical course of childhood abdominal migraine, seven to 10 years after the diagnosis.
Methods:
A total of 54 children with abdominal migraine were studied; 35 were identified from a population survey carried out on Aberdeen schoolchildren between 1991 and 1993, and 19 from outpatient records of children in the same age group who had attended the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital. Controls were 54 children who did not have abdominal pain in childhood, matched for age and sex, obtained from either the population survey or the patient administration system. Main outcome measures were presence or resolution of abdominal migraine and past or present history of headache fulfilling the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria for the diagnosis of migraine.
Results:
Abdominal migraine had resolved in 31 cases (61%). Seventy per cent of cases with abdominal migraine were either current (52%) or previous (18%) sufferers from headaches that fulfilled the IHS criteria for migraine, compared to 20% of the controls.
Conclusions:
These results support the concept of abdominal migraine as a migraine prodrome, and suggest that our diagnostic criteria for the condition are robust.