To determine the association between mid-life migraine and late-life dementia risk leveraging survey and electronic health records (EHR) data.

Migraine is a leading cause of disability and impacts nearly a billion people worldwide. Prior studies on migraine and dementia have suggested possible associations. However, follow-up time from migraine ascertainment to dementia has been limited and may not capture mid-life migraine or the age ranges in which the highest dementia risks occur.

We linked health survey questionnaires administered during voluntary checkups (Multiphasic Health Checkups (MHC)) from 1964-1972 to electronic medical records (EMR) starting in 1996 for individuals born between 1919-1936. From 1964-1972, individuals were asked: “In the past six months have you often had bad headaches” and about the features of these headaches. In 1972-1973, participants were directly asked if they ever received a migraine diagnosis. For our analyses, migraine was defined as responding yes to any migraine-related question.  Dementia cases were identified using ICD 9 and 10 codes in EMR starting in 1997.  

A total of 34,364 individuals were included in these analyses of which 9,620 were classified as having migraine in mid-life (mean age at migraine assessment:  40.1 years (standard deviation = 5.4)). Overall, 28% of the sample received a dementia diagnosis (mean age at dementia diagnosis: 84.2 years (standard deviation = 6.5)). Those with migraines in midlife were slightly more likely to experience dementia later in life compared to those without migraine (hazard ratio =1.07; 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.13). 

These findings suggest that mid-life migraine may be associated with dementia onset later in life. Further studies are needed to adjust for potential confounders from early to mid-life, and to determine how the onset of other health conditions, such as stroke or high blood pressure, may modify these associations.