Odds of prior migraine up for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration

(HealthDay)—Individuals with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have increased odds of prior migraine, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in Scientific Reports.

Tung-Mei Kuang, M.D., from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues collected retrospective claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to examine the correlation between migraine and AMD. A total of 20,333 patients diagnosed with neovascular AMD were propensity score-matched to 81,332 controls. Differences in the prevalence of migraine prior to the index date were examined among cases and controls.

The researchers found that 5.1 percent of patients had a migraine claim before the index date: 6.1 and 4.9 percent among cases and controls, respectively, for an unadjusted odds ratio of 1.239 for prior migraine. After adjustment for multiple variables, including age, sex, monthly income, and geographic location, the adjusted odds ratio for prior migraine was 1.201 for cases versus controls.

"Our study suggests that clinicians should be alert to the potential for neovascular AMD among migraine sufferers and should refer them for periodic fundus examinations by an ophthalmologist," the authors write. "Further studies are needed to confirm the association found in the present study in other regions and racial groups."

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