Researchers discovered 10.7% prevalence of migraines and synergism between female gender and stress on risk of migraine in a recent study, suggesting health interventions targeting women under stress may be beneficial. This analysis was based on data from 42,282 persons aged ≥12 years who participated in a 2013–2014 community health survey. A multivariate log-binomial model was used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios for migraines associated with individual and joint exposures of female gender and stress. Researchers used relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index (S index) to measure additive interaction. They found:
- The adjusted prevalence ratios were 2.37 for female vs male, 1.63 for persons with high vs low levels of stress, and 3.38 for women with high stress vs men with low stress.
- The RERI estimate was 0.38, the AP estimate was 0.11, and the S index was 1.19.
Slatculescu AM, Chen Y. Synergism between female gender and high levels of daily stress associated with migraine headaches in Ontario, Canada. [Published online ahead of print August 28, 2018]. Neuroepidemiol. doi:10.1159/000492503.