Migraine with aura: Visual disturbances and interrelationship with the pain phase. Vågå study of headache epidemiology

Abstract

In the Vågå study of headache epidemiology, 1838 or88.6% of the available 18-65-year-old inhabitants of the commune were included. Everyone was questioned and examined personally bythe principal investigator (OS).There were 178 cases of various types of visual disturbances during the migraine attack, which corresponds to 9.7% of the study group.The prevalence among females was11.9% and among males 7.4%; female/male ratio was 1.70, as against 1.05 in the total Vågå study population. By far the most frequently occurring visual disturbance pattern was (A) 1. Visual disturbances → 2. pain-free interlude → 3. pain phase (in 78% of the cases). Other frequent patterns were: (B). Visual disturbances, but no pain phase (24%); and: (C) 1. Pain phase → 2. visual disturbances (23%). Evidently, in the solitary case, there might be more than one visual disturbance pattern. Themost frequently occurring solitary visual disturbances were: scintillatings cotoma (62%) and obscuration (33%); but also more rare ones were identified, like anopsia, autokinesis (movement of stationary objects), tunnel vision and micropsia. Among the non-visualaura disturbances, paraesthesias and speech disturbances were the most frequent ones. The prevalence of migraine with aura seemed to beconsiderably higher than in similar studies. This also includes studies that have been carried out with aface-to-face interview technique. © Springer-Verlag Italia 2006.