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Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bülteni, Cilt: 15, Say›: 4, 2005 / Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol: 15, N.: 4, 2005 - www.psikofarmakoloji.org

Migraine headache and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a student sample

Ara?t›rmalar/Researches

INTRODUCTION

S

everal lines of investigation

suggest that obsessive-

compulsive disorder (OCD) may be

associated with serotonergic

dysfunction. Researchers have also

suggested that serotonin plays an

important role in the migraine

headache process. However, there are

few published reports examining the

relation between clinical OCD and

migraine headache. Researchers have

suggested that the migraine headache

syndrome and OCD are “affective

spectrum disorders” (1). Indeed, Hudson

and colleagues (1) claimed that

migraine headache is associated with

other psychiatric and medical

conditions including major depressive

disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity

disorder, bulimia, cataplexy, dysthymic

disorder, generalized anxiety disorder,

irritable bowel syndrome,

premenstrual dysphoric disorder, social

phobia, fibromyalgia, and OCD.

Researchers have found that there are

increased odds for individuals with

migraine to also have OCD. Breslau (2)

found that the adjusted (for gender)

Migraine Headache and Obsessive-Compulsive

Symptoms in a Student Sample

Wayne M. Dinn

1

, Ayse Aycicegi-Dinn

2

, Nicole C. Robbins

3

, Catherine L. Harris

1

1

Boston University, Department of Psychology

Boston, Massachusetts-USA

2

Istanbul University, Department of

Psychology, Istanbul-Turkey

3

Suffolk University, Department of Psychology

Boston, Massachusetts-USA

Yaz›?ma Adresi / Address reprint requests to:

Wayne M. Dinn, 42 Washington Terrace,

Whitman, Massachusetts 02382 USA

Telefon / Phone: 781-447-6058

Elektronik posta adresi / E-mail address:

dinn@bu.edu

Kabul tarihi / Date of acceptance:

5 Eylül 2005 / September 5, 2005

ABSTRACT:

Migraine headache and obsessive-compulsive

symptoms in a student sample

Objective: Converging lines of evidence suggest that serotonergic

dysfunction underlies migraine headache. Obsessive-compulsive

disorder (OCD) is also associated with serotonergic dysfunction. If

migraine headache and OCD are serotonergic disorders, then it is

reasonable to assume that migraine headache sufferers will

demonstrate a higher incidence of OCD symptoms relative to non-

migraine controls.

Method: To test this hypothesis, we administered measures of OCD

symptoms and general psychopathology to university students who

met criteria for migraine headache and non-migraine student

controls.

Results: We found that migraine headache was associated with

elevated scores on measures of obsessive-compulsive (OC) and

depressive symptoms. Migraine headache was not associated with

social and generalized anxiety, or harm avoidance. Moreover,

students with migraine did not demonstrate significantly higher rates

of Axis I or Axis II disorders.

Conclusions: Serotonergic dysfunction may underlie the observed

association between migraine headache, depressive symptoms, and

obsessive-compulsive phenomena.

Key words: migraine headache, obsessive-compulsive disorder,

serotonin, depressive symptoms.

Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bülteni 2005;15:174-181

ÖZET:

Bir ö¤renci örnekleminde migren ba?a¤r›s› ve obsessif-

kompulsif semptomlar

Amaç: Literatürdeki pek çok bulgu, serotonerjik i?lev bozuklu¤unun

migrene ba¤l› ba?a¤r›s›n›n alt›nda yatan neden oldu¤unu ileri sür-

mektedir. Ayr›ca obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk da (OKB), serotonerjik i?-

lev bozuklu¤u ile ili?kilidir. E¤er migren ba?a¤r›s› ve OKB serotonerjik

bozuklukla ili?kili ise, migrene ba¤l› ba?a¤r›s› çekenlerin migreni ol-

mayan kontrollere göre, daha yüksek bir s›kl›kta OKB semptomlar›

gösterecekleri varsay›labilir.

Yöntem: Bu hipotezi test etmek için, migren ba?a¤r›s› kriterlerini kar-

?›layan üniversite ö¤rencileri ile migreni olmayan kontrol ö¤rencileri-

ne, genel psikopatoloji ve OKB semptomlar›n›n ölçüldü¤ü testler uy-

gulanm›?t›r.

Bulgular: Migren ba?a¤r›s›n›n, obsessif-kompulsif ve depresif semp-

tomlardaki art›?la ili?kili oldu¤u bulunmu?tur. Migren ba?a¤r›s›, sos-

yal ve yayg›n anksiyete veya zarardan kaç›nma ile ba¤lant›l› ç›kma-

m›?t›r. Ayr›ca, migreni olan ö¤rencilerinin Eksen-I veya Eksen-II’de ta-

n› alma oranlar›n›n anlaml› olarak yüksek olmad›¤› görülmü?tür.

Sonuç: Serotonerjik aktivitedeki de¤i?iklikler, migren ba?a¤r›s›, depre-

sif semptomlar ve obsesif-kompulsif drurumlar aras›nda gözlenen

ili?kiyi aç›klayan neden olabilir.

Anahtar sözcükler: Migren ba?a¤r›s›, obsesif kompulsif bozukluk,

serotonin, depresif semptomlar

Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bülteni 2005;15:174-181