A study of changes in hematologic parameters in patients with migraine

To evaluate the characteristics of hematological parameters and peripheral inflammatory markers (PIMs) in migraine, including chronic migraine (CM) and episodic migraine (EM), and to explore their underlying mechanisms.

A total of 88 subjects were enrolled, 58 with migraine (28 with CM and 30 with EM) and 30 healthy controls. All subjects were matched for age, gender, and body mass index, and peripheral blood was collected. Hematological parameters and PIMs were compared between migraineurs and healthy controls. The patients underwent hematological laboratory testing and calculated the PIMs. PIMs included neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil/monocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and platelet/monocyte ratio (PMR) ratio.

Monocyte counts in migraine patients were significantly lower compared with healthy controls, while LMR and PMR were significantly higher. Statistically significant differences were observed in monocyte counts, LMR, and PMR among the three groups of CM, EM, and HC patients. Post hoc Bonferroni t-test showed that monocyte counts were significantly lower in the EM group compared with the HC group, while LMR and PMR were significantly higher. Comparison between the EM and CM groups showed that LMR was significantly higher in the EM group. Differences in monocyte counts, LMR, and PMR between the CM and HC groups were not statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosing migraine using the combination of Mon, LMR, and PMR was 0.707, and the AUC for the diagnosis of EM was 0.758. The AUC value of PMR for diagnosing CM was 0.669, while the AUC for the combination of LMR and platelet/lymphocyte ratio in distinguishing CM and EM was 0.705.

Our findings indicate that migraine and its subtypes exhibit abnormalities in monocyte counts and PIMs, which possess diagnostic predictive value for differentiating migraine and its subtypes. This suggests that systemic inflammation may play a role in the pathogenesis of migraine.