Migraine increases brain aging, study finds

Migraine or half-head headache is estimated to affect around 20% of people. Headaches severely disrupt daily activities and there is currently no definitive cure for migraines. Now, research has revealed a serious risk associated with this common condition.

A study published in the journal Brain Communications found that migraines accelerate the rate of brain aging and cause long-lasting changes in the brain.

Previous research had already identified a link between migraines and cognitive decline. This new study examined how migraines affect brain age meaning the biological age of the brain compared to a person’s actual age.

The gap between brain age and physical age is associated with a higher risk of dementia and cognitive decline. The study included 110 migraine patients and 70 individuals without migraines.

MRI scans of participants were conducted and more than 400 brain regions were analyzed. A computer model was then used to estimate brain age. Results showed that migraine patients had an average difference of 4.24 years between brain age and physical age, a gap not observed in the control group.

This difference was more pronounced in chronic migraine patients (those experiencing headaches 15 or more days per month). During the analysis of 442 brain regions, 66 showed signs of accelerated aging. These affected regions included areas involved in pain processing, emotional regulation and cognition.

Researchers acknowledged that the study has limitations as it could not conclusively prove that migraines directly cause brain aging, and other factors may also play a role.

However, they noted that during migraine attacks, multiple changes occur in the brain and functions such as sleep, stress levels, inflammation and other bodily processes are also affected. Long-term migraine sufferers may therefore experience accelerated brain aging.