- More
than 1 billion people around the world have at least one migraine attack
each year.
- Previous research shows that migraine can
potentially increase a person’s risk for several health issues, including
gastrointestinal conditions.
- New research from Seoul National University
College of Medicine in South Korea says there may also be a link between
migraine and an increased risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
More than
Previous studies show that migraine can potentially
increase a person’s risk for other conditions, including
Migraine has also been linked to some
Now, researchers from Seoul National University
College of Medicine in South Korea say there may also be a link between
migraine and an increased risk for irritable
bowel disease (IBD), which is an umbrella term that includes Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative
colitis.
The study was recently published in the journal
Migraine and
IBD: An unsurprising connection
According to Dr. Brooks D. Cash,
professor and chief of the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and
Nutrition at UTHealth Houston in Texas, who was not involved in this study, the
field of gastroenterology has recognized for many years that migraine has been
associated with many chronic gastrointestinal syndromes and diseases.
“The data in this report supports previous reports of
an association between migraine headaches and
IBD,” Dr. Cash told Medical News Today.
Dr. Rudolph Bedford, a
board-certified gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in
Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in this study, told MNT that
the research results were not surprising.
“[With]
inflammatory bowel disease we do see some extra-intestinal manifestations
including things involving the eye or ocular findings, which may be neurogenic
in nature, so it wasn’t surprising,” Dr. Bedford added.
This is not the first study to look at a connection
between migraine and IBD.
A study published in March 2021 of people in the
United States found a
Research published in March 2023 reported an increased
prevalence of IBD in people with migraine with and without aura.
Could
migraine increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease?
For the current study,
researchers analyzed data from more than 10 million people through the
nationwide healthcare system for South Korean citizens. About 3% of the study
population had IBD.
Through
the data, scientists found the incidence of IBD was significantly higher in
people who had migraine compared to those who did not.
Scientists also reviewed the data through subgroups of
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis incidences. People with migraine in both
subgroups had a higher risk of developing either condition when compared to
people without migraine.
After a migraine diagnosis, researchers found people
were at a higher risk of developing Crohn’s disease, with a significant rise
after a 5-year follow-up.
Additionally, within the subgroups, scientists
reported that the impact of migraine on the risk of developing ulcerative
colitis was more prominent in men than women.
Study
results not definitive
Based on these findings,
the research team suggests that people with migraine be monitored carefully for
the development of IBD.
However, Dr. Cash stated that the data presented do
not convincingly support that approach or recommendation.
“The odds ratios that were reported in this study,
which can be thought of as the increased odds of an outcome (e.g., developing
IBD) with a given exposure (e.g., migraine headaches), were consistently
between one to two, which is not far from definitive and can be easily
misinterpreted or misrepresented,” he explained.
“The results are, at best, suggestive of an
association between migraines and IBD, which we were already aware of based on
previous research and deserve to be further evaluated. However, the minimal
increase in the odds of developing IBD reported in this study is not sufficient
to recommend increased monitoring of patients with migraines for the
development of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.”– Dr. Brooks D. Cash
Importance of
identifying potential IBD triggers
Dr. Bedford said it is important to identify potential
health issues that may trigger IBD, as a doctor may be able to mitigate the
symptoms of IBD if they know what may be associated with it.
“Migraines
can be very debilitating and you may want to identify those people with
migraines,” he continued. “We don’t normally question patients with
inflammatory bowel disease whether or not they have migraine headaches, so it
probably rates as something that should be done more frequently.”
“These results add to an already relatively robust
body of research suggesting that chronic pain syndromes are statistically
more common in patients with chronic GI syndromes or diseases,” Dr. Cash said.
“We do not have enough information or proof yet to
establish a causal relationship either way. But this data can be used to
explain some therapeutic approaches that may benefit both GI and neurologic
symptoms in patients with migraines,” he added.
Research
next steps
Regarding the next steps
for this research, Dr. Cash said that mechanistic data evaluating the possible
reasons for these consistent observations of association is needed.
“Right now, all we have are hypotheses,” he continued.
“Are there changes in the gut-brain communication pathways or
sensory perceptions in the enteric and central
nervous systems? Is the gut
microbiome involved? Are there psychological and
stress-mediated factors at play?”
“Once clinical relationships such as these have been
identified, we need to move toward trying to explain why those relationships
may exist,” Dr. Cash added. “That, in turn, may lead us to develop more
targeted and effective therapies that can address multiple symptoms/syndromes.”
Dr.
Bedford suggested researchers look for an association between IBD flares and
migraine occurring at the same time. As migraine is associated with serotonin release,
he encouraged researchers to examine how the serotonin transporters within the
GI tract, small bowel, and colon might play a role.
“I think just questioning our patients in terms of
quality of life issues — is there any way that we can mitigate their migraine
headaches, potentially preventing their inflammatory bowel disease flare, or
vice versa, is certainly something to look into,” Dr. Bedford said.
No comments:
Post a Comment