Migraine May Increase Subsequent Dementia Risk

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Migraine is associated with an increased risk for subsequent dementia, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Kyungduk Hurh, from Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Health Screening Cohort (2002 to 2019) to evaluate whether patients with migraine have an increased risk for dementia versus individuals without migraine. The analysis included 44,195 patients with migraine and 44,195 propensity-matched patients without migraine.

The researchers found that the incidence rate of dementia was 139.6 cases per 10,000 person-years in patients with migraine and 107.7 cases per 10,000 person-years in matched controls. Patients with migraine had a higher risk for all-cause dementia (hazard ratio, 1.30), Alzheimer dementia (hazard ratio, 1.29), vascular dementia (hazard ratio, 1.35), mixed or other specified dementia (hazard ratio, 1.36), and unspecified dementia (hazard ratio, 1.30) versus matched controls.

"In conclusion, in the present study, patients with migraine had an increased risk of developing all-cause dementia, Alzheimer dementia, vascular dementia, and other dementias compared with their risk-set matched controls," the authors write. "However, further studies are warranted to generalize our findings and elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms linking migraine and dementia."

Abstract/Full Text