A recent study published in Neurology on July 31, 2024, has found that high diastolic blood pressure is linked to a slightly increased likelihood of experiencing migraines in women.
Diastolic pressure refers to the blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. Interestingly, the study did not find a similar link between other cardiovascular risk factors and migraines.
Antoinette Maassen van den Brink, Ph.D., from Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, led the research.
She explained, “Previous research shows that migraine is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart disease, and heart attack, but less is known about how risk factors for cardiovascular events relate to having migraines.”
The study looked at well-known cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes, smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol. It found an increased odds of having migraines only in female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure.
The study involved 7,266 participants, both male and female, with a median age of 67 years. Among them, 15% had either current or past migraines. All participants underwent physical exams, provided blood samples, and answered questions about migraines, including whether they had ever experienced severe headaches that impacted their daily activities.
After adjusting for multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as physical activity and education level, researchers found that female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure had a 16% increased odds of having migraines for every standard deviation increase in diastolic blood pressure.
This standard deviation increase is a statistical measure used to compare diastolic blood pressure with other cardiovascular risk factors. The study found no associations between migraines and systolic blood pressure.
Maassen van den Brink noted, “This supports the theory that migraine is associated with a slightly reduced function of the small blood vessels rather than a reduced function of the large blood vessels.”
The study did not find any associations between high cholesterol, obesity, or diabetes and migraines in female participants. Interestingly, current smoking was linked to a 28% lower odds of having migraines, and diabetes was associated with a 26% lower odds.
However, Maassen van den Brink cautioned, “These results should be interpreted with caution, as they do not prove that smoking causes a lower risk of migraines. Instead, smoking might trigger migraine attacks, and therefore, people who choose to smoke are less likely to be people who have migraines.”
In male participants, the study found no associations between cardiovascular risk factors and migraines. Maassen van den Brink commented, “Our study suggests that overall, migraine is not directly related to traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Because we looked at people who were middle-aged and older, future studies are needed in younger groups of people who are followed for longer periods of time.”
One limitation of the study was the small number of male participants with migraines, which could help explain why no associations were found for men between cardiovascular risk factors and migraines.
In conclusion, while high diastolic blood pressure in women is linked to a higher chance of having migraines, more research is needed, particularly in younger populations, to fully understand the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and migraines.
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The research findings can be found in Neurology.
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