Migraines And Domestic Abuse: Link Found Between Adversities And Neurological Issue

Statistics show that over 10 percent of the population suffer from migraines, a collection of neurological symptoms that are oftentimes accompanied by visual disturbances, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and/or tingling or numbness in the extremities or the face.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto now links a higher likelihood of migraines to those who were exposed to parental domestic violence as a child, possibly including childhood physical and/or sexual abuse.

For the study, researchers examined a nationally representative sample of 12,638 women and 10,358 men aged 18 and up from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.

"The most surprising finding was the link between exposure to parental domestic violence and migraines. Even after accounting for variables including age, race, socioeconomic status, history of depression and anxiety, and childhood physical and sexual abuse, men and women who had witnessed parental domestic violence had 52% and 64% higher odds of migraine, respectively, compared to those without such a history " said co-author Esme Fuller-Thomson, professor and Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair at University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, in a news release. 

"The cross-sectional design of our study does not allow us to determine if the association between early adversities and migraines is causative, but our findings do underline the importance of future prospective studies investigating the long-term physical health of children exposed to parental domestic violence," Fuller-Thomson concluded. 

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Headache. 

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