Relationship Between Migraine Type Headache in Childhood with Cow’s Milk Allergy and Egg-white Allergy

Abstract

Background and aim: Migraine is a very common headache disorder. Due to the co-occurrence of migraine and allergic disorders allergic mechanisms have been thought to play role in migraine pathophysiology. This study aimed to investigate the association between cow's milk allergy and egg-white allergy with migraine type headache of childhood.
Materials and methods: We included 39 children with migraine type headaches and 167 children with no headaches who had been previously evaluated in a school screening study program. Egg-white and cow's milk specific IgE levels were measured for all involved subjects.
Results: Specific IgE levels were positive for cow's milk in 4 children and for egg-white in 2 children, respectively. There was not detected meaningful relationship between food allergies and migraine. However, specific IgE levels for egg-white were significantly higher in migraineurs (p=0.008).
Conclusion: Childhood migraine does not appear to be associated with cow's milk or egg-white allergy. However, the elevation of egg-white specific IgE levels in migraine type headache may signify the possible presence of shared pathogenetic pathways in the development of migraine and food allergies.