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Painful as they may be, migraines don't hurt your brain, new research shows.
There is little reliable information available on the prevalence of migraines in Canada. Some estimates suggest up to 25% of Canadian women and up to 10% of men experience the chronic neurological condition.
And the medical community hasn't been able to pinpoint the causes of the condition, in part because the symptoms and triggers vary so widely from person to person.
Researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital analyzed data from 6,349 women aged 45 and older who had participated in a large health study in which they indicated whether they suffer from migraines.
In followup tests of their cognitive function — conducted every two years, up to three times — the researchers found no significant difference between women who experienced migraines and women with no history of it.
"Our study was large enough to draw the conclusion that migraines, while painful, are not strongly linked to cognitive decline," said Pamela Rist, an academic at BWH and the study's lead author.
But while these findings, published online in the British Medical Journal, suggest migraines may not have long-term consequences such as dementia or cognitive decline, there is a body of evidence linking the disorder to an increased risk of stroke.
There is little reliable information available on the prevalence of migraines in Canada. Some estimates suggest up to 25% of Canadian women and up to 10% of men experience the chronic neurological condition.
And the medical community hasn't been able to pinpoint the causes of the condition, in part because the symptoms and triggers vary so widely from person to person.
Researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital analyzed data from 6,349 women aged 45 and older who had participated in a large health study in which they indicated whether they suffer from migraines.
In followup tests of their cognitive function — conducted every two years, up to three times — the researchers found no significant difference between women who experienced migraines and women with no history of it.
"Our study was large enough to draw the conclusion that migraines, while painful, are not strongly linked to cognitive decline," said Pamela Rist, an academic at BWH and the study's lead author.
But while these findings, published online in the British Medical Journal, suggest migraines may not have long-term consequences such as dementia or cognitive decline, there is a body of evidence linking the disorder to an increased risk of stroke.
