Abstract
It is unclear whether hypertension (HTN) is a predisposing factor for the development of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HTN in TN patients and controls at the USC Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine Center. A retrospective chart review was conducted from a database of over 3,000 patient records from 2003 to 2007. We identified patients diagnosed with TN with or without HTN. A total of 84 patients (54 females; 30 males) between the ages of 33 and 93 years were diagnosed with TN; 37% had TN with HTN and 32% of controls had HTN. The increased prevalence of HTN in the TN patients was not statistically significant (P = 0.50). Since, both TN and HTN are seen in the elderly, it is likely that HTN is simply a co-existing condition in patients with TN and not a risk factor for its development.
Keywords: Hypertension, Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia, Tic douloureux, Trigeminal neuralgia, Prevalence
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (157.3 KB).
Conflict of interest
None.
References
- 1.The International Classification of Headache Disorders. 2nd ed. (2004). Cephalalgia. 24 (Suppl 1): 1–160 [DOI] [PubMed]
- 2.Katusic S, Beard CM, Bergstralh E, Kurland LT. Incidence and clinical features of trigeminal neuralgia, Rochester, Minnesota, 1945–1984. Ann Neurol. 1990;27:89–95. doi: 10.1002/ana.410270114. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Devor M, Amir R, Rappaport ZH. Pathophysiology of trigeminal neuralgia: the ignition hypothesis. Clin J Pain. 2002;18:4–13. doi: 10.1097/00002508-200201000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Turner CL, Mendoza N, Illingworth RD, Kirkpatrick PJ. Measurement of pulse pressure profiles in patients with trigeminal neuralgia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003;74:533–535. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.74.4.533. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Oleson J. The international classification of headache disorders. Cephalalgia. 2004;24:9–160. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2003.00824.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Arnett DK, Boland LL, Evans GW, Riley W, Barnes R, Tyroler HA, Heiss G. Hypertension and arterial stiffness: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. ARIC investigators. Am J Hypertens. 2000;13:317–323. doi: 10.1016/s0895-7061(99)00281-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Hajjar I, Kotchen TA. Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the United States, 1988–2000. JAMA. 2003;290:199–206. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.2.199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Ong KL, Cheung BM, Man YB, Lau CP, Lam KS. Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among United States adults 1999–2004. Hypertension. 2007;49:69–75. doi: 10.1161/01.HYP.0000252676.46043.18. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Manzoni GC, Torelli P. Epidemiology of typical and atypical craniofacial neuralgias. Neurol Sci. 2005;26(Suppl 2):s65–s67. doi: 10.1007/s10072-005-0410-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]