Migraine and Meniere's disease: Two different phenomena with frequently observed concomitant occurrences

Background: Some variants of migraine could be indistinguishable from Meniere's disease, and this has prompted suggestions of possible association between the two disease entities. Aim and Objectives: This study aims at determining the prevalence of migraine among Meniere's patients and a possible linkage between the two diseases in our environment. Methodology: A 10-year retrospective study of patients diagnosed with Meniere's disease using American Academy of Otorhinolaryngology criteria, including those that had associated migranous symptoms in accordance with the International Headache Society (IHS) diagnostic criteria for migraine, between 1996 and 2005. The prevalence of migraine in the Meniere's patients was also compared with lifetime prevalence recorded from a previous population-based study within the same setting. The statistical difference was tested with a Z nonparametric test (significance at P<0.05). Epicalc2000 and SPSS (R) 11 were used for the statistical analysis. Result: A total of 25 patients representing 0.22% of the 11,463 ear, nose and throat outpatients seen within the study period met the diagnostic criteria for Meniere's disease. There were nine (36%) males and 16 (94%) females. Their ages ranged 27-65 years, mean 45.25 years +/- 11.05. Eight (32%) met IHS criferia for migraine. There is a statistically significant difference between the prevalence of migraine in Meniere's patients and migraine in the overall population (32% vs. 5.3%, P=0.000). Conclusion: The significant preponderance in the prevalence of migraine in Meniere's disease suggests a link between the two diseases. However, more molecular or genetic studies are needed to unveil this phenomenon.