Key clinical point: In patients with migraine, COVID-19 vaccination worsened the overall migraine symptoms in the first month post-vaccination; however, COVID-19 infection solely increased the number of acute medication intake days in the first month following infection.
Major finding: COVID-19 vaccination led to a significant increase in the number of monthly migraine days (MMD), monthly headache days (MHD), and monthly acute medication days (MAMD) by 1.06, 1.52, and 0.72, respectively (all P < .001) in the first month post-vaccination. COVID-19 infection solely increased MAMD by 1.11 (P = .027) in the first month following infection, with no significant effects on MMD and MHD.
Study details: This longitudinal cohort study identified 547 patients with migraine, of whom 147 were included in the vaccine analysis and 59 in the infection analysis.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. BWH van der Arend and GM Terwindt declared receiving independent support and consultancy or industry support from various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: van der Arend BWH et al. Effect of COVID vaccination on monthly migraine days: A longitudinal cohort study. Cephalalgia. 2023;43(9) (Sep 8). doi: 10.1177/03331024231198792