Can Migraines be Linked to the Size of your Brain?

If you are a sufferer of migraines and depression, you’ll know how debilitating it can be. However, new research suggests that the combination of the two could be linked to more than just bad luck – the size of your brain may be impacting the risk. Researchers are already aware that people who regularly suffer with migraines are at double the risk of developing depression, so scientists were keen to determine if the combination of these conditions affected the total brain volume. While the difference in size isn’t particularly alarming at just two percent, they are keen to study it in more depth to see if the disparity causes any harmful health effects.

There are various potential explanations as to why these conditions affect those with smaller brain volumes. Research associate Larus Gudmundsson from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda stated that there could be a genetic factor driving the combination. It could be connected to pain mechanisms in the brain, but it is also suggested that there are social and economic reasons as well. More than 36 million people in America alone are thought to suffer from migraines, which can have a severe effect on your life. In addition, clinical depression affects more than 15 million people – Gudmundsson believes that between three to four percent suffer from a combination of the two.

In a study involving 4,300 adults at two different stages, researchers analysed participants for migraine headache incidences and then asked about their history of major depressive disorders 25 years later. They gave each participant an MRI brain scan at the later stage to measure the volume of the brain, when the participants were between 66 and 96 years old. Compared to those who had no history of migraines or depression, researchers noted that those with these conditions had brain volumes of around two percent smaller. There were no results to show a cause and effect relationship, so further studies need to take place in order to analyse this further.