Relationship between HBV DNA Positivity and Migraine in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis

Purpose: Migraine headache is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind, affecting thousands of people throughout the world. The objective of this study is to compare the frequency of migraines in the patient group previously diagnosed with chronic hepatitis-B to the migraine frequency in the healthy control group.

Materials and Methods: Patients who presented to Dicle University Hospital and who were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis-B were enrolled in the study. The viral hepatitis markers, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hepatitis-b virus DNA (HBV DNA), and their levels were included in the evaluation. The control group consisted of healthy individuals with no hepatitis-B detected in the previous screenings. Chronic fatigue observed in the patient group was recorded, and the degree of fatigue was assessed according to the Visual Analogue Scale to Evaluate Fatigue Severity (VAS-F). Approval of the local ethics committee was obtained for this study.

Results: The frequency of migraines in patients who tested positive for HBV DNA was significantly higher than in those who tested negative for HBV DNA (p<0.05). Chronic fatigue was also significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p=0.01), and their HBV DNA levels were correlated with the VAS-F score (r=0.532; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Migraine was found to be correlated with fatigue and the HBV DNA ratio in chronic hepatitis B patients.