Atopic Disorders and Their Risks of Migraine: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

PURPOSE: Migraine is a relatively common neurologic disorder. A possible link between atopic disorders and migraine has been suggested. This study investigated atopic disorders and their risks of migraine in the Korean population. METHODS: From the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, patients aged ≥ 20 years who underwent health screening between January and December of 2009 were enrolled. To evaluate the risk of migraine, Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: In multivariable analysis, the atopic dermatitis group (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–1.33), asthma group (aHR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.30–1.34) and allergic rhinitis group (aHR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.44–1.46) had significantly increased risks of migraine compared to their respective control groups (P < 0.001). The patients with 1 (aHR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.42–1.44), 2 (aHR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.47–1.53), and 3 (aHR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.43–1.88) atopic disorders had significantly increased risks of migraine compared to the control group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that patients with atopic disorders may have increased risk of migraine and that the larger the number of concomitant atopic disorders, the higher the risk of migraine.