History of maternal migraine and its association with preeclampsia: A case–control study in a low-resource setting in Sudan, Africa

Abstract

Background Previous studies have reported various levels of association between migraine and preeclampsia. However, there are no published data on migraine and its association with preeclampsia in African countries, including Sudan. Methods A case–control study was conducted at Rabak Maternity Hospital in White Nile State, Central Sudan. The cases were pregnant women with preeclampsia, while the controls were healthy pregnant women. All participants were interviewed using questionnaire. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated in a multivariate regression analysis. Results Of 148 pregnant women with preeclampsia, 96 (64.9%) women had mild preeclampsia and 52 (35.1%) women had severe preeclampsia. Of the 148 study participants with preeclampsia, 57 (38.5%) had a history of migraine and 19/296 (6.4%) women in control group had a history of migraine ( p < 0.001). Pregnant women with a history of migraine have higher odds of preeclampsia than pregnant women without a history of migraine (AOR = 9.01, 95% CI = 4.81–16.86). A history of preeclampsia, being overweight and obesity were associated with preeclampsia. Conclusion Our findings are consistent with the findings of previous studies on the association between migraine and preeclampsia. More studies are needed on this topic.