Evidence Hub

Headache caused by drinking cold water is common and related to active migraine

Mattsson P

Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache, 2001

669 participants

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cold-induced headache and to test if it is associated with migraine. Women attending a population-based mammography screening programme were asked to participate in the study. Fifty-one of 669 women (7.6%) experienced a headache after ingesting 150 ml of ice-cold water through a straw. Women who had experienced one or more migraine attacks in the last year (active migraine) were twice as likely to experience a headache from ingesting the cold water as women who had never suffered from migraine. Ninety-five women who had experienced their most recent migraine attack more than 1 year ago (inactive migraine) were not at increased risk. The prevalence of active and inactive migraine was 19.4 and 14.2%, respectively. Headache caused by drinking cold water is common in women. The results indicate that active migraine facilitates the perception of forehead pain induced by a cold palatal stimulus.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 669 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free