The aim of this investigation was to examine whether chronic periodontitis (CP) is a risk indicator of chronic migraine (CM). We performed a case-control study consisted of 102 cases (patients diagnosed with CM) and 91 controls (non-CM individuals) matched by age and gender. Full-mouth periodontal charts, demographic, medical, clinical, as well as neurological data were obtained. In addition, high sensitive C-reactive protein serum levels were determined from blood samples of both cases (taken during migraine interictal period) and controls. The prevalence of CP was significantly higher in patients with CM compared to those without CM (58.8 vs. 30.8%, p < 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis showed that CP was significantly associated with the presence of CM, independently of well-known chronifying factors of migraine (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2-4.7; p = 0.012). Based on our results, CP could be considered as a risk indicator of CM. However, more evidence is necessary to investigate if this relationship is causal or not.
Keywords: Chronification; Headache; Migraine; Periodontitis; Risk factors.