Comorbidity of migraine and panic disorder

Stewart, Walter PhD, MPH
Breslau, Naomi PhD
Keck, Paul E. Jr. MD

From the Department of Epidemiology, School of Hygiene and Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr. Stewart); Department of Psychiatry, Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Detroit, Michigan, and Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (Dr. Breslau); and Biological Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr. Keck).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Walter Stewart, Department of Epidemiology, School of Hygiene and Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Neurology 44(10):p S23-S27, October 1994.

Article abstract

Clinical and epidemiologic evidence suggests that migraine co-occurs with psychopathology, including specific anxiety disorders. To examine this association, survey data from a population-based study of more than 10,000 respondents were used to determine if individuals with a history of panic attacks were at greater risk of having specific headaches in the week preceding an interview. Four types of headache were defined. Of these, only migraine was strongly associated with panic attacks. Given the high prevalence of both migraine and panic attacks and evidence that they often co-occur, treatment implications are discussed for this comorbidity.