Recent research using Mendelian randomisation has shed light on causal relationships between socioeconomic, behavioural, dietary, and physical factors and the risk of developing migraines. The study provides robust evidence for targeted preventive strategies in patients prone to migraines.
Methodology
Researchers applied a two-sample Mendelian randomisation framework to assess 28 traits across socioeconomic, behavioural, dietary, and physical factors. Univariable Mendelian randomisation, with inverse-variance weighted analysis as the primary method, was complemented by robustness checks, including Cochran’s Q test, Egger intercept, and leave-one-out analyses. A multivariable framework further evaluated direct causal impacts while accounting for stroke and particulate matter air pollution.
Data came from the UK Biobank GWAS, the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium, GWAS meta-analyses, and the FinnGen Project (8547 individuals with migraine and 176,107 control individuals).
Migraine risk: Key findings
Protective factors against migraine risk included:
- Higher coffee intake (OR=0.547, P=0.005)
- Greater oily fish intake (OR=0.556, P=0.001)
- Higher educational attainment (OR=0.916, P<0.001)
Conversely, risk factors included:
- Higher poultry intake (OR=4.690, P=0.013)
- Longer mobile phone use (OR=1.526, P=0.017)
These associations remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders.
No significant associations were seen for other factors studied such as computer time, sedentary work time, moderate to vigorous physical activity, fresh fruit intake, processed meat intake, red wine intake, body mass index, loneliness, and household income.
This study highlights personalised, actionable factors influencing migraine risk, and the protective role of educational attainment underscores the broader impact of socioeconomic factors on neurological health.
The research was published in The Clinical Journal of Pain from Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Read the abstract and access the article here (full article is behind a paywall).
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