Breastfeeding duration influences migraine headache onset

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of breastfeeding duration on migraine headache. The influence of breastfeeding duration on the manifestation of migraine headache and age at onset of migraine headache symptoms was assessed by analyzing history data on headache of 30 636 children aged 3-17 residing in Vojvodina and on nutrition in 24 011 of these subjects. Data were compared between children with migraine headache (8.63%) and other primary recurrent headaches (18.83%). Negative Pearson correlation ratio (0.07, p<0.01) clearly showed reciprocal influence of the duration of breastfeeding on the migraine headache onset and earlier onset of migraine in children who were breastfed for a shorter time (p<0.01). Defining the duration of breastfeeding as an early predisposing factor for migraine offers the possibility of very early migraine headache prevention, especially in children with positive heredity for migraine.