Contrary to previous research, a new study of female participants finds no link between migraine and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The study was published on August 21st, 2024, in the online issue of Neurology ® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These results are reassuring for women who have migraine, which itself causes many burdens, that they don't have to worry about an increased risk of Parkinson's disease in the future.
" Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, Study Author, Institute of Public Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin The study involved 39,312 female participants with an average age of 55 at the start of the study. A total of 7,321 of the participants reported current or past migraine at the start of the study. The participants were then followed for an average of 22 years.
During that time, 685 people reported physician-diagnosed Parkinson's disease. Of those, 128 were people who reported a history of migraine or active migraine, and 557 were people with no migraine. After adjusting for other factors that could affect the risk of developing Parkinson's disease as well as migraine, such as age, physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking status, researchers found that people with migraine were no more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not have migraine.
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