Abused Kids More Prone to Migraines in Adulthood

Jan. 7 -- WEDNESDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Children who were physically or emotionally abused or neglected are more likely to develop migraines and other chronic pain conditions as adults, a new study finds.

According to the researchers, their study and others have found stress caused by abuse can alter children's brains, making them more likely to develop chronic pain from such conditions as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis and arthritis.

"Stressful events in childhood, such as abuse, can alter the body's stress response permanently and predispose to a wide variety of medical and psychiatric conditions in adulthood," said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Gretchen E. Tietjen, professor and chairwoman of neurology and director of the Headache Treatment and Research Program at the University of Toledo Medical Center in Ohio.

It is not uncommon, she said, for people who've been abused to have a variety of debilitating conditions, including migraine.

"The linking of these comorbidities may be through abuse-mediated brain changes occurring early in life," Tietjen said. "Understanding the physiology of abuse's effects on the brain over the life span may lead to prevention or more effective treatment of migraine and associated conditions."

She was quick to note, however, that not all abused children develop migraines and not everyone who suffers from migraines or any other chronic painful condition was abused.

But those with a history of abuse "are more likely to have the worst cases of migraine," she said. "They are the ones most likely to have a lot of the other pain conditions."

The findings are reported in the January issue of Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain.

For the study, Tietjen's group collected data on 1,348 people with migraines who were seen at 11 outpatient headache centers. About 58 percent reported being physically, sexually or emotionally abused or physically or emotionally neglected during childhood. Also, 61 percent reported having at least one painful condition other than migraine.