Migraines Linked to Higher Risk for Dementia, Alzheimer Disease

Migraines are a significant risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD) and all-cause dementia.

Rebecca E. Morton, from University of Waterloo in Canada, and colleagues used data from 679 community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) participating in the Manitoba Study of Health and Aging to evaluate the relationship between migraines and dementia, including AD and vascular dementia (VaD).

The researchers found that a history of migraines was significantly associated with both all-cause dementia (odds ratio [OR], 2.97; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.25 to 6.61) and AD (OR, 4.22; 95 percent CI, 1.59 to 10.42), even after adjusting for confounding and intervening variables. No significant association was noted between migraines and VaD in unadjusted (OR, 1.83; 95 percent CI, 0.39 to 8.52) or adjusted (OR, 1.52; 95 percent CI, 0.20 to 7.23) analyses.

"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," the authors write.

This study was published online Sept. 4 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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