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Cluster headache and lifestyle habits
Markus Schürks1, Hans-Christoph Diener
1Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 900 Commonwealth Avenue East, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA. mschuerks@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Current Pain and Headache Reports
|May 14, 2008
Summary
Cluster headache (CH) patients exhibit higher smoking rates than the general population. While early studies suggested heavy alcohol use, recent findings indicate CH patients often avoid alcohol, especially during active phases, to prevent triggering attacks.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Epidemiology
- Lifestyle Medicine
Background:
- Cluster headache (CH) is historically linked to specific anthropometric, personality, and lifestyle factors.
- Previous research suggested associations between CH and lifestyle habits like smoking and alcohol consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine lifestyle features, specifically smoking and alcohol consumption, in patients diagnosed with cluster headache.
- To evaluate the prevalence of smoking and alcohol use in CH patients compared to general population data.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature focusing on lifestyle factors in cluster headache patients.
- Analysis of reported smoking and alcohol consumption patterns in CH cohorts.
- Comparison of prevalence data with general population statistics.
Main Results:
- Smoking prevalence is significantly higher among cluster headache patients compared to the general population, irrespective of country-specific habits or time trends.
- Early reports indicated excessive alcohol consumption in CH patients, but recent studies do not corroborate this finding.
- Current evidence suggests CH patients tend to avoid alcohol, particularly during active headache phases, due to its potential to trigger attacks.
Conclusions:
- Smoking remains a prevalent lifestyle factor in cluster headache patients.
- The association with excessive alcohol consumption is not consistently supported by recent research; avoidance is more common during active phases.
- Current descriptive studies do not provide insight into the long-term effects of smoking or alcohol on the cluster headache disease course.
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