Stressful early life events such as child abuse may make women more susceptible to migraine and depression as adults, survey findings suggest.

“This study confirms adverse experiences, particularly childhood abuse, predispose women to health problems later in life,” said study author Dr. Gretchen E. Tietjen, of the University of Toledo-Health Science Campus, in Ohio.

Tietjen and colleagues surveyed 949 women with migraine about their history of abuse, depression, and headache.

Overall, 40 percent had chronic headache, defined as 15 or more headaches per month, and 72 percent reported very severe headache-related disability. Eighteen percent of the women also had major depression.

Results also showed that 38 percent of women reported being physically or sexually abused and 12 percent reported both physical and sexual abuse in the past.

According to the researchers, women with migraine who had depression were twice as likely as those with migraine alone to report being sexually abused as a child. If the abuse continued beyond age 12, the women with migraine were five times more likely to report depression.

The findings are published in the medical journal Neurology.

“Stressful events, particularly when occurring early in life, may render a person more susceptible to painful conditions, such as migraine and depression later in life,” Tietjen told Reuters Health.

“Treatment that addresses the migraine pain, as well as the suffering associated with pain, may improve quality of life,” she added.

SOURCE: Neurology, September 4, 2007.