Association between use of short-acting benzodiazepines and migraine occurrence: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

AIM: To evaluate the association between using benzodiazepines (BZDs) with short- or long-acting durations and migraine occurrence.

METHODS: The migraine group comprised 9616 subjects older than 20 years and newly diagnosed with migraine between 2005 and 2011, and the comparison group comprised 38,464 subjects without migraine. The BZDs used in the subjects were dichotomously defined as short-acting (half-life ≤24 h) and long-acting substances. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of migraine associated with BZD exposure and other diseases.

RESULTS: The adjusted OR of migraine associated with BZD exposure was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.63-1.84). Either exposure to a short-acting BZD alone or using it combining with a long-acting BZD had significant higher risks of migraine (adjusted OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.59-1.80; adjusted OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.91-2.24, respectively), whereas only long-acting BZD use was not associated with an increase of migraine. Meanwhile, sleep disorders, anxiety, and stroke were strongly associated with migraine (adjusted OR = 2.00, 1.91, and 1.57, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: We observed a significant increase of migraine occurrence in subjects using short-acting BZDs, either alone or in combination with long-acting ones.