Migraine and Left-Handedness are not Associated. A New Case—Control Study and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

To investigate the possible association between migraine and left-handedness, we enrolled 100 patients with a diagnosis of migraine according to the International Headache Society diagnostic criteria and 100 age- and sex-matched control subjects into a case—control study. Handedness was determined by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. There was no significant difference in the frequency or grade of left-handedness between the two groups. Additionally, we pooled our data with those from five similar studies, which did not alter the result. Thus, neither our study nor the meta-analysis support Geschwind and Behan's hypothesis of an association between migraine and left-handedness.