OC-22 | Beyond headache: prevalence of atopy and other comorbidities in pediatric patients

Erica Agosto,¹ Alessandra Fera,¹ Giulia Grasso,² Barbara Lauria,² Roberta Rossi,² Cristina Vassia,² Emanuele Castagno,² Antonia Versace² | ¹Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Postgraduate School of Pediatrics, University of Turin; ²Department of Pediatric Emergency, Pediatric Headache Centre, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, Turin, Italy

Background: Headache is one of the most common neurological disorders of childhood; specifically migraine affects up to 10% of the pediatric population. Several studies have suggested a possible association between headache and atopy, potentially linked by shared inflammatory pathways and immune dysregulation. Furthermore, other comorbidities might affect children with headache and contribute to the symptoms. We aimed to assess the prevalence of atopic disorders and other comorbidities in children with headache, compared to the general pediatric population.

Methods: We retrospectively included all the children admitted to the Paediatric Headache Centre of the Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital of Turin, Italy, for the first visit between January 2024 and December 2024. Collected data included headache classification, demographic characteristics and comorbidities (atopic diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, otolaryngologic conditions, and visual impairment).

Results: We recruited 170 patients (90 females, 80 males); median age: 12 years (range 5-17 years). Overall, 115 patients (67.6%) were diagnosed with migraine (10 with aura, 8.7% of migrainosus children), 48 (28.2%) presented mixed or undefined headache features, 6 (3.5%) had tensive headache and 1 new daily persistent headache. Atopic conditions (asthma, allergic rhinitis, bronchial hyperreactivity) were identified in 49 patients (28.8%). Neurodevelopmental disorders (learning disabilities, ADHD, hyperactivity) were reported in 20 patients (11.5%), compared to a general prevalence of 5–10% [1]. Other comorbidities included visual impairments requiring corrective lenses in 23 patients (13.5%) and otolaryngologic disorders (such as adenoidal hypertrophy or OSAS) in 27 patients (15.9%).

Conclusion: This study confirmed similar prevalence of atopic disorders among children with headache compared to the general pediatric population of Northern Italy (15-30%). Neurodevelopmental and otolaryngological comorbidities were highly prevalent in our cohort, highlighting the necessity for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation of pediatric headache. Future prospective studies are needed to elucidate causality and clinical implications. Furthermore, these findings require validation in larger, multicenter cohorts to evaluate geographic and demographic variability.