Vij, Brinder, Whipple, Mary O, Tepper, Stewart J et al. · Headache · 2015 · DOI
This study examined how often people with fibromyalgia experience migraine headaches. Researchers surveyed over 1,700 fibromyalgia patients and found that about 56% met the criteria for migraines. People with both conditions were more likely to also have depression, anxiety, IBS, and chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting these overlapping conditions increase overall burden on patients.
Since ME/CFS and fibromyalgia share overlapping symptoms and patient populations, understanding comorbid migraine prevalence helps clinicians recognize and treat multiple interconnected conditions. The strong association with ME/CFS (50.7% in migraine group vs. 37.1% without) suggests shared pathophysiological mechanisms or symptom clustering relevant to both disorders.
This study does not prove that migraine causes fibromyalgia or vice versa—it only shows they occur together frequently. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or temporal relationships. Additionally, the study does not explain the biological mechanisms linking these conditions or whether treatments for one would help the other.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Vij, Brinder, Whipple, Mary O, Tepper, Stewart J, Mohabbat, Arya B, Stillman, Mark, & Vincent, Ann (2015). Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Patients With Fibromyalgia.. Headache. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.12590
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-vij-2015-frequency-migraine,
author = {Vij, Brinder and Whipple, Mary O and Tepper, Stewart J and Mohabbat, Arya B and Stillman, Mark and Vincent, Ann},
title = {Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Patients With Fibromyalgia.},
journal = {Headache},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1111/head.12590},
note = {PubMed: 25994041},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vij-2015-frequency-migraine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vij-2015-frequency-migraine
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