Hematologic Differences Between Migraineurs and Tension-Type Headache Patients.

Background: Headaches are among the most common complaints observed in neurology and medicine, notably migraines and tension-type headaches (TTH).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare hematologic parameters comprised hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, leukocytes, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) between migraineurs and tension-type headache patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 23 migraineurs and 23 TTH-diagnosed patients, in accordance with the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 beta version (ICHD-3-beta). The patients underwent hematological laboratory testing, which included assessments of their serum levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, leucocytes as well as neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes.

Results: There were significant differences in the mean platelets serum levels between migraineurs and TTH patients, with migraineurs having 355.3 x 103/μl (SD±47.4 x 103/μl) and TTH patients having 282.0 x 103 /μl (SD± 44.2 x 103) /μl, respectively (p = 0.001). However, there were no differences in the mean level of hemoglobin, hematocrit and leukocytes between the two groups. There was also a significant difference in PLR between migraineurs and TTH patients, with a ratio of 138.1 (SD±36.0) in migraineurs and 110.2 (SD±21.9) in TTH patients (p =0.003), but no differences in NLR or LMR.

Conclusion: The mean serum levels of platelets and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio of migraineurs were significantly higher than TTH patients. However, there were no differences in the mean levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, leukocytes, NLR and LMR between the two groups.