Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

BACKGROUND: The potential impact of migraine on cognitive aging among older adults remains controversial.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of migraine and subtypes with cognitive decline and dementia in an older Swedish population.

METHODS: This population-based study included 3069 participants (age≥60) from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, Stockholm. Baseline examination was conducted in 2001-2004, and participants were followed every 3 or 6 years until 2013-2016. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, clinical examinations, laboratory tests, and linkage with registers. Global cognitive function was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Dementia was diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. Migraine and subtypes were defined following the international classification system. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, Cox regression, and linear mixed-effects models.

RESULTS: At baseline, 305 participants were defined with non-migraine headache and 352 with migraine. The cross-sectional analysis showed that the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of prevalent dementia was 0.49 (0.20-1.21) for migraine and 0.66 (0.26-1.66) for migraine without aura. The longitudinal analysis showed that the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of incident dementia associated with migraine and subtypes ranged 0.68-0.89 (p > 0.05). Furthermore, migraine and subtypes were not significantly associated with either baseline MMSE score or MMSE changes during follow-ups (p > 0.05). The nonsignificant associations did not vary substantially by age, APOEɛ4 allele, cerebrovascular disease, and antimigraine treatment (p for interactions > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: This study shows no evidence supporting the associations of migraine and its subtypes with cognitive decline and dementia among older adults.