SynthesisNeurology2023
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Primary Headache Disorders: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Application of a Biological Theory.
Synthesis in Neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between posttraumatic stress disorder and migraine: A systematic review.Headache · 2026Pooled it
- The multimodal neuroimaging signatures and gene expression profiles for adverse childhood experiences.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Migraine, comorbidity, and risks of severe maternal and neonatal morbidity or mortality: a population-based cohort study.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Early life stress induces brain-wide electrical network predisposition to migraine.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Maternal and child mental health and incident migraine in adolescence: An "All Our Families" prospective cohort study.Headache · 2026Article
- Childhood maltreatment, trauma, and pain: trauma-related symptoms as mediators in a high-risk group.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Chronic orofacial pain and psychological distress: findings from a multidisciplinary university clinic.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health at Age 50 Years in the National Child Development Study.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- High prevalence of primary headaches among patients with post-traumatic stress disorder: an observational study of consecutive patients.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Observational
- The Effectiveness of Group and Individual Training in Emotional Freedom Techniques for Patients in Remission from Melanoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and their impact on primary headache patients: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Migraine and functional neurological disorder (FND)-a review of comorbidity and potential overlap.Brain communications · 2025Review
- Migraine in the multiple sclerosis prodrome: a prospective nationwide cohort study in pregnant women.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Article
- Association between adverse childhood experiences and the risk of developing chronic headache in Chinese individuals: a RCSCD-TCM study in China evidence from a national survey.BMC public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesHeadache disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. While an association between adverse childhood experiences and primary headaches has been reported, the pooled magnitude across studies and pathways of the association are unknown. Our objectives were (1) to estimate the pooled effect of ≥1 adverse childhood experience (ACE) on primary headache disorders in adulthood and (2) to test the hypothesis that ACEs categorized as "threat" traumas or "deprivation" traumas have distinct effects on primary headaches based on a selected theory from our narrative review of how ACEs affect human development along the life course.
methodsPubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Biological Psychiatry, and gray literature were searched up to March 16, 2023 (PROSPERO, CRD42020223403). Selected articles included (1) observational studies with a comparator group, (2) ACEs that occurred before 18 years of age, and (3) primary headaches occurring at or after 21 years of age. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using multilevel linear random-effects modeling. The narrative review included theories that describe how ACEs affect human development and disease across the life course. We selected a theory from our narrative review and tested ACEs categorized according to this theory for any modification of point estimates.
resultsOur search identified 32 studies, of which 28 were eligible for meta-analysis (n = 154,739 participants, 19 countries). The occurrence of ≥1 adverse childhood experience(s) was associated with primary headaches (pooled OR = 1.48 [95% CI 1.36-1.61]; high-quality evidence, 134,696 participants). As the number of ACEs increased, the odds of primary headaches increased (range: 1 ACE OR = 1.24 [95% CI 1.14-1.35] to ≥4 ACEs OR = 2.09 [95% CI 1.83-2.38], DISCUSSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis confirm that ACEs are important risk factors of primary headache disorders in adulthood. Our findings provide epidemiologic support that ACEs categorized as threat and deprivation may manifest as distinct pathways of early adversity.
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