Comorbidity between idiopathic overactive bladder and chronic migraine

Objective We tested whether overactive bladder (OAB) and chronic migraine (CM) could be comorbid. Patients and methods CM women, aged 40-69 years, answered a validated OAB questionnaire. Prevalence data were compared with those reported in our country in the general population (GP) using the same questionnaire. Results We interviewed 231 CM women. Eighty-four met OAB criteria. OAB prevalence in CM patients was significantly higher than that found in the GP (36.4% vs. 21.8% in the GP; p = 0.0001). There were 34 CM women aged 40-49 years (34.3% vs. 15.2%; p = 0.001), 35 aged 50-59 years (38.9% vs. 21.7%; p = 0.004) and 15 aged 60-69 years (35.7% vs. 24.5%; p = 0.15) meeting OAB criteria. Seventy-seven (33% vs. 9.9%; p = 0.002) needed more than eight micturitions/24 h, 61 (26.4% vs. 8.1%, p = 0.002) experienced nocturia and 43 (18.6% vs. 8.1%; p = 0.001) urinary incontinence. Conclusion In this exploratory study, at least in women, OAB and CM are comorbid, which suggests shared mechanisms.