Persons who suffer severe headaches or migraines are 25% more likely to develop hypertension in comparison to those who do not have a history of migraine, suggests a study published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.1 The risk was higher among women than in men.

Data from 5716 adults from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was analysed in this cross-sectional study. The research objective was to investigate the link between self-reported migraine, severe headaches and hypertension.

Out of the 5716 participants, 1134 (19.8%) reported migraine or severe headaches. Younger females and those with higher BMI were more likely to experience migraine. Those who reported migraine also had lower dietary potassium and calcium intake, lower serum total cholesterol, creatinine, and hemoglobin, high estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and lower educational status compared with those without migraine. After adjusting for confounding variables, participants with migraine or severe headaches were at 25% increased risk of developing hypertension with odds ratio (OR) of 1.25.

On subgroup analyses, a positive association between migraine or severe headache and hypertension was noted in women (OR 1.39), participants with a lower BMI (≤25 kg/m2) (OR 1.51) and those without diabetes (OR 1.27).

This study has demonstrated a positive correlation between migraine and hypertension. Hence, management of migraine is important to prevent onset of hypertension in this population group.

Reference

1. Zhang J, et al. Association between migraine or severe headache and hypertension among US adults: A cross-sectional study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2023 Feb;33(2):350-358. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2022.11.014.