Patients with migraine headaches are more likely to have comorbid dry eye disease (DED) compared with the general population, according to a recent study. Although this association may not reflect cause and effect if unidentified confounders account for the results, these data suggest that patients with migraine headaches may be at risk of carrying a comorbid diagnosis of DED. This retrospective case-control study included 72,969 patients aged >18 years from University of North Carolina-affiliated health care facilities from May 1, 2008, through May 31, 2018. Researchers found:

• The total patient cohort consisted of 41,764 men (57.2%) and 31,205 women (42.8%).
• Of these, 5,352 patients (7.3%) carried a diagnosis of migraine headache, and 9,638 (13.2%) carried a diagnosis of DED.
• The odds of having DED given a diagnosis of migraine headaches was 1.72 times higher than that of patients without migraine headaches.
• After accounting for multiple confounding factors, the odds of having DED given a diagnosis of migraine headaches was 1.42 times higher than that of patients without migraine headaches.