Migraine: etiology, risk, triggering, aggravating factors and clinical manifestations

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the etiology and clinical manifestations of migraine. An integrative literature review was performed guided by the question: What is the evidence available in the literature about the etiology, signs and symptoms of migraine? The article search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed and LILACS, considering publications in the period from 2006 to 2010. The selected articles were categorized and evaluated according to the level of evidence. One found 1,677 articles and 26 were selected for full reading. Most studies (84.6%) consisted of a non-experimental design and were classified as evidence level IV. Although the clinical manifestations found in this study confirm the data available in the literature, it is noticed that migraine does not have well-established causes.