People who suffer from migraine headaches also run a higher risk of developing clinical depression, new Canadian research says. According to Reuters, scientists at the University of Calgary found that 22 percent of the 15,000 study participants who suffered from migraines also experienced depression over the course of the 12-year study.
That means participants with migraines were about 80 percent more likely than people without migraines to develop depression. This statistic held true even after adjusting for other characteristics like age and sex.
Led by Geeta Modgill, the team monitored the participants between 1994 and 2007, checking in with them every two years. Because of their findings, Modgill told Reuters that people who suffer from migraines ought to be aware of the signs and symptoms of depression as well.
And the link between the conditions may even be a two-way street, she said. People with clinical depression were found to have a higher risk of developing migraines during the study, though researchers were quick to note the finding “could have been due to chance.”
Overall, people with depression seemed to be 40 percent more likely than those without depression to develop the painful headaches. The evidence was not as strong, however, and the relationship all but disappeared when researchers adjusted for influences like stress and childhood trauma. While the study was unable to determine a cause-and-effect link between the two conditions, Modgill said there seemed to be something at play. “Something is going on here,” she said.