The Association of Menstrual Migraine with Iron Deficiency and Its Induced Anemia

Background: Menstrual Migraine (MM) is a subgroup of migraine headache that affect the quality of life of patients in menstrual age. Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) is the most common cause of anemia, especially in women of reproductive age. Objectives: To determine the association of iron deficiency anemia with menstrual migraine. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on women with migraine visiting neurology clinics affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in late 2015 and early 2016. The demographic data and characteristics of migraine headache were registered in a designed questionnaire. The patients underwent laboratory tests for iron deficiency and anemia. Data were analyzed in SPSS-20 using Chi-square test and independent t-test. Significance level was considered at p<0.05. Results: Of the 93 migraine patients, 47.3% had Pure MM (31.9% with premenstrual migraine and 15.4% with true menstrual migraine), 40.6% had Menstrual-Related Migraines, and 12.1% had non-menstrual migraines. The frequency of iron deficiency anemia was 51.1%, 40.5% and36.4% in PMM, MRM and non-menstrual migraines (p=0.18). Total frequency of iron deficiency anemia in PMM and MRM groups was 46.2%, which was not significantly different from non-menstrual migraine group (p=0.82). Iron deficiency anemia was significantly higher in migraine patients with aura compared to those without aura (53% vs. 43.2%) (p=0.04). Conclusion: Although iron deficiency anemia was more prevalent among patients with menstrual migraine, but it is not associated menstrual migraine.