Frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism in 5-to 15-year-old children with migraine headache

Background: Migraine is the most frequent acute recurrent primary headache in childhood. Hypothyroidism may be an exacerbating factor for some primary headaches. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism in children with migraine headache. Methods: In a cross-sectional analytic study, the thyroid function tests of 5- to 15-year-old migraineurs who were referred to the Pediatric Neurology Clinic of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences from January 2010 to February 2011 in Yazd, Iran, were measured based on the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Results: Forty-eight girls (46.2%) and 56 boys (53.8%) with mean age of 10.46 +/- 2.72 years were evaluated. Twenty-five (24%) children had hypothyroidism. The monthly frequency of headache (mean +/- SD, 14.75 +/- 8.9 vs. 20.12 +/- 9.49, p=0.04) and the duration of headache (mean +/- SD, 1.96 +/- 1.08 vs. 3.75 +/- 2.71 h, p=0.03) were more statistically significant in migraineur children with hypothyroidism, but the mean age, mean of onset age of migraine, sex distribution, and severity of headache were not statistically different in both groups. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, subclinical hypothyroidism was as an exacerbating factor for migraine headache. Therefore, it is logical to check the thyroid function tests in migraineur children.