Inheritance of Primary Headache in Children and Adolescents—A Scoping Review

The objective is to give an update on the current state of research on the genetics of primary headache in children and adolescents. Investigations of the genetics of migraine in adults have changed our understanding of the pathophysiology of migraine, but knowledge from our adult patients cannot be directly applied to pediatric patients. The study was conducted through searches of PubMed and Web of Science. Our search yielded 10 studies. Some of the included studies elucidated correlations between certain characteristics of the headaches in parents and an elevated risk of headache in their children. The follow-up studies found that about one-third of the participants were headache-free at the time of follow-up and about one in four had shifted to a different headache diagnosis. All studies included in this paper found a familial aggregation or heritability of primary headache in children and adolescents.