Migraines and Depression: What's the Link?

It’s a downer to live with headaches so awful that they make you throw up or send you to bed in a darkened room.

So you might expect depression to be more common in migraine sufferers than in the general population, and that’s exactly what researchers have found. But it seems that the link may be more than just psychological.

Learn more about migraines at the Migraine Learning Center.

Painful Head, Anguished Mind

The latest study to look at the migraine-mood connection included over 36,000 women enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-funded Women’s Health Study. These women, who were depression-free when the research began, were followed for an average of 14 years. During that time, women with a history of migraines, either currently or in the past, were 40 percent more likely to develop depression than those with no such history.

Some migraines are preceded by auras—visual disturbances such as flashing lights, zigzag lines, or a temporary loss of vision. In this study, the risk of depression in migraine sufferers was the same whether or not auras occurred.

One limitation of the study is that it included only women age 45 and older, but migraines typically begin earlier in life. It’s possible that focusing on an older age group may have skewed the findings. Yet if anything, the results might be a bit on the low side. Previous research had suggested that depression might be twice as common in migraine sufferers as in those who don’t have headaches.

Be on the lookout for these signs of depression. 

The Migraine-Depression Link

Researchers are still sorting out exactly how depression and migraines may be linked. Migraines cause severe throbbing or pulsing pain in one area of the head, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or intense sensitivity to light and sound. The headaches can be debilitating enough to drive people to their beds, and the misery sometimes lasts for days.

On a psychological level, living with this kind of recurring pain can be stressful. For people prone to depression, it’s certainly plausible that the stress might contribute to their dark moods.

Genes may play a role as well. Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands studied over 2,600 members of a large extended family. They found evidence for a shared genetic factor in depression and migraines, particularly migraines with auras.

On a physiological level, genes could affect molecular pathways that are involved in both conditions. Research suggests that the diseases may share common pathways for serotonin and glutamate, two key brain chemicals.

The bottom line: There’s still a lot to be learned about the relationship between migraines and depression. But the two often occur together. And when they do, getting help for both may help maximize the management of each.

Learn more about depression at the Depression Learning Center.

——————————

Get the information you need to improve your health and wellness on Healthline.com.

Signs of Depression. Learn how to tell the difference between a bad day and something more serious.

Migraine Learning Center. Read about the disorder characterized by chronic, severe headaches of intense throbbing or pulsating pain.

Improve Sexual Performance. Learn healthy ways to get in the mood and last longer between the sheets.

Treat Psoriasis at Home. Follow these helpful tips to manage your condition every day.

Human Body Maps. Check out the human body in 3D.

More Resources: Chronic Pain Management...Psoriasis Treatments...Sunburn Remedies