Is Male Migraine Associated with Color Vision Deficiency? Findings among Israeli Adolescents between 2007 and 2013

Objective: Accumulating clinical and experimental evidence has shown that migraine patients tend to suffer from color vision abnormalities. The aim of this study was to examine whether color vision deficiency is associated with male migraine in a large population of adolescents. Methods: The study population included all Israeli male adolescents who underwent medical and cognitive examinations as part of their recruiting process between the years 2007 and 2013. Migraine prevalence among patients with color vision deficiency was compared to that of males without substantial color vision abnormalities. Results: The study population included 305 964 male adolescents at the age of 17 ± 0.6, of whom 7584 (2.5%) had color vision deficiency, as determined by the Farnsworth Panel D-15 color blindness test. Males with color vision deficiency had a 32% increased prevalence of migraine as compared with the control group (odds ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.18-1.48, P <.001), after adjusting for multiple variables. Conclusions: The authors found an association between color vision deficiency and migraine in male adolescents. The study results lay the basis for further research into male migraine, as well as the visual aspects of migraine.