Is Migraine a Risk Factor for Alzheimer Disease?
A history of migraine is a significant risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD) and all‐cause dementia, according to a new study. Migraine and vascular dementia, however, do not have a significant association.
To determine whether dementia and headache are associated, the researchers analyzed data from 679 community‐dwelling participants from the Manitoba Study of Health and Aging.
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The participants, who were all aged 65 years or older, had been screened as cognitively intact at baseline. The researchers also had record of the participants’ complete data on migraine history and all covariates from baseline.
The researchers then evaluated the participants’ cognitive outcomes, including all‐cause dementia, AD, and vascular dementia, 5 years later.
Using all available data, the researchers determined the association between lifetime history of migraines, age, sex, education, depression, hypertension, myocardial infarction, other heart conditions, stroke, and diabetes with all‐cause dementia and the 2 dementia subtypes.
By doing this, the researchers concluded that a history of migraines was significantly associated with all‐cause dementia and AD. The association remained even after adjusting for the confounding and intervening variables.
However, there was not an association between migraine and vascular dementia, regardless of variable adjustment.
“Despite the vascular mechanisms involved in migraine physiology, migraines were not significantly associated with [vascular dementia] in this study,” the researchers concluded. “Recognition of the long‐term detrimental consequences of migraines for AD and dementia has implications for migraine management, as well as for our understanding of AD etiology.”
—Colleen Murphy
Reference:
Morton RE, St. John PD, Tyas SL. Migraine and the risk of all‐cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia: a prospective cohort study in community‐dwelling older adults [published online September 5, 2019]. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. doi:10.1002/gps.5180.