Pediatric mixed headache -The relationship between migraine, tension-type headache and learning disabilities - in a clinic-based sample

BACKGROUND: Headache is a common complaint among children. The most common primary headache syndromes in childhood are migraine and TTH. However many times they seem to overlap. The purpose of our study was to assess the relationship between pediatric migraine, tension-type headache (TTH) and learning disabilities. METHODS: Children presenting with headache to three pediatric neurology clinics in the last 5 years were assessed. Two hundred sixty-two children, 5–18 years of age, who met the criteria for migraine were included. RESULTS: Of 262 children (54 % female) who had migraine, 26.2 % had migraine with aura. 59 children (22.5 % of the full sample) reported also having headaches that met the criteria for episodic TTH/mixed headaches. Females were more than 2.8 times more likely to experience mixed headaches than males (OR: 2.81, 95 % CI: 1.43–5.54; p <.003). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that older age (p <0.02), family history of aura (p <.02), and (lack of) TTH (p <.003) were significant predictors of aura, whereas gender was not significant (p >0.20). Children who had migraine with aura were less likely to have mixed headaches than children who did not have aura (OR: 0.26, 95 % CI: 0.11–0.63; p <.003). Children with mixed headaches were 2.7 times more likely to have a learning disability than children with migraine alone. CONCLUSIONS: Episodic TTH and migraine without aura (mixed headaches) in children might be part of a continuum, which can explain the high incidence of their co-occurrence as opposed to migraine with aura. Children with mixed headaches have a higher incidence of learning disability compare to those with migraine alone.