Migraine and depression genetic link

13th January 2010 - Migraine headaches and depression seem to share a strong genetic link, a new study indicates.

What’s more, migraine sufferers are apparently much more likely to suffer from depression than people who don’t have the debilitating headaches, according to researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

It could mean new treatment approaches tackling both conditions at the same time.

The study is published in the journal Neurology.

The research

The study involved 2,652 people who took part in a research program called the Erasmus Rucphen Family study. All are genetically similar and descendants of 22 couples who lived in a community in the Netherlands from the 1850s to the 1900s.

Of the participants, 360 had migraine, including 151 who had migraine with aura - when headaches are preceded by sensations, such as flashing lights. Another 209 had migraine with no aura.

The participants with migraines were compared to a group of 617 participants in the study who didn’t report having migraine headaches.

The researchers found that 25% of those with migraines also suffered from depression, compared to 13% of people with depression who didn’t have the headaches.

The researchers say that for both types of migraine, the percentage explained by genetic factors was estimated at 56%.

For people with migraine with aura, the estimate was 96%.

Aura brings greater depression risk

“We found an increased risk of depression and depressive symptoms in migraine patients, in particular those with aura,” says lead author Dr A. H. Stam of Leiden University Medical Centre in a press release accompanying the research.

For migraines without aura, a smaller decrease in genetic inheritance estimates was seen.

The study, they say, may lead to better therapeutic strategies in people who suffer from both depression and migraine.

Dr Gisela Terwindt, one of the study authors, says “common genetic pathways may, at least partly, underlie both of these disorders, rather than that one is the consequence of the other”.

In an accompanying editorial, researchers at the University of Florida in the US advise people with migraine or depression to tell their doctors about any family history of either disease.