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Associations Between Frequent Headaches, Persistent Smoking, and Attempts to Quit
Author(s) -
Waldie Karen E.,
McGee Rob,
Reeder Anthony I.,
Poulton Richie
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2007.01037.x
Subject(s) - headaches , medicine , migraine , socioeconomic status , young adult , cross sectional study , logistic regression , longitudinal study , pediatrics , demography , psychiatry , population , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Background.— Recent studies have found a strong relationship between tobacco smoking and headache pain. It remains unclear whether smoking behavior leads to headache or visa versa, mainly due to the cross‐sectional nature of the majority of this research. Objective.— To help clarify the direction of the relation between smoking and frequent headaches in a representative cohort study. Design and Methods.— Members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (N = 980) were asked about their cigarette smoking and headache history at ages 11 and 13 (childhood), age 15 (mid‐adolescence), and age 26 (adulthood). Both cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between smoking and headache status were examined using logistic regression. Results.— During mid‐adolescence, the likelihood of frequent headaches doubled for smokers relative to nonsmokers (OR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.39‐3.35). Smoking did not increase the risk of developing headaches in adulthood, however. In contrast, individuals who suffered from frequent headaches during mid‐adolescence were 2 times more likely to smoke in adulthood than those without headache (OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.3‐3.7), after controlling for sex and family socioeconomic status. Attempts to quit smoking were significantly more difficult for migraine sufferers with a history of headache than for those with tension‐type headache. Conclusions.— Frequent headaches during mid‐adolescence appear to increase the risk of daily smoking in adolescence and adulthood. These individuals also have a more difficult time quitting than their headache‐free peers.