Migraine and left-handedness do not appear linked

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Contrary to earlier findings, there is no apparent link between migraine and left-handedness, German researchers have shown.

Some 26 years ago, a group of investigators reported finding more left-handers among migraine patients than other people. Now, Dr. Katrin Biehl and colleagues, at the University of Munster, report in the medical journal Cephalalgia that they found no significant difference in the frequency or grade of left-handedness between people who have migraine and those who do not.

The researchers assessed handedness—whether one favors the left- or right-hand—in 100 migraine patients and another 100 people without migraine who were of similar age and gender.

The migraine group and the control group both consisted of 87 female and 13 male participants. Overall, study participants were about 40 years old.

The researchers identified 4 subjects in the migraine group and 8 in the control group who were left-handed.

Biehl and colleagues further investigated any association between migraine and left-handedness by pooling the data from their study with those from five similarly designed studies.

The combined analysis included a total of 980 migraine patients and 1738 control subjects. Overall, 7.3 percent of the migraine group and 6.8 percent of the control subjects were left-handed.

The investigators conclude there is not a significant association between migraine and being left-handed.

SOURCE: Cephalalgia, May 2008

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