TOPLINE:
Migraine is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including both Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), a new nationwide, population-based cohort study showed.
METHODOLOGY:
- Investigators analyzed data from South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database, which houses data for the nationwide obligatory health system for South Korean citizens.
- Individuals aged ≥ 20 years who had at least one national health screening in 2009 were enrolled in the study and followed until December 2019.
- Investigators searched the data for International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision) codes corresponding to migraine and IBD. IBD diagnoses were also based on clinical manifestation, endoscopic findings, and pathologic findings.
TAKEAWAY:
- More than 10 million people were enrolled in the study (55% male; mean age, 47 years), and of these, 2.8% were diagnosed with migraine during the study period.
- During a median follow-up of 10 years, the incidence of IBD was significantly higher in patients with migraine (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.31; P < .001), CD (aHR, 1.58; P < .001) and UC (aHR, 1.26; P < .001) than in those without migraine.
- in men vs women (aHR, 1.43 vs 1.12; P = .042).
- Investigators could only speculate about the mechanisms underlying the association between migraine and IBD but suggest pathological processes underlying both migraine and IBD, including proinflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor alpha, may be involved.
IN PRACTICE:
“Clinicians should be aware of the potential risk of IBD in patients diagnosed with migraine especially in men for the development of UC and in migraineurs with a long disease duration for a further risk of CD,” the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
Hyunjung Lee, MD, of Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea, led the study, which was published online on January 12, 2024, in Scientific Reports.
LIMITATIONS:
Disease severity of migraine and IBD was not available. In addition, certain medications taken to relieve migraine, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, could cause intestinal inflammation, but there was no medication information available.
DISCLOSURES:
There was no information about study funding nor disclosures from study authors.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.