More than 1 billion people around the world have at least one migraine attack each year.
Previous research shows that migraine can potentially increase a person’s risk for several health issues, including gastrointestinal conditions.
New research from Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea says there may also be a link between migraine and an increased risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
More than 1 billion peopleTrusted Source globally have at least one migraine attack each year.
Previous studies show that migraine can potentially increase a person’s risk for other conditions, including strokeTrusted Source, heart diseaseTrusted Source, epilepsyTrusted Source, sleeping issuesTrusted Source, and anxiety and depressionTrusted Source.
Migraine has also been linked to some gastrointestinal conditionsTrusted Source, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)Trusted Source.
Now, researchers from Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea say there may also be a link between migraine and an increased risk for irritable bowel disease (IBD), which is an umbrella term that includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
The study was recently published in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source.
Migraine and IBD: An unsurprising connection
According to Dr. Brooks D. Cash, professor and chief of the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at UTHealth Houston in Texas, who was not involved in this study, the field of gastroenterology has recognized for many years that migraine has been associated with many chronic gastrointestinal syndromes and diseases.
“The data in this report supports previous reports of an association between migraine headaches and IBD,” Dr. Cash told Medical News Today.
Dr. Rudolph Bedford, a board-certified gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in this study, told MNT that the research results were not surprising.
“[With] inflammatory bowel disease we do see some extra-intestinal manifestations including things involving the eye or ocular findings, which may be neurogenic in nature, so it wasn’t surprising,” Dr. Bedford added.
This is not the first study to look at a connection between migraine and IBD.
A study published in March 2021 of people in the United States found a higher prevalenceTrusted Source of migraine or severe headaches among adults with IBD than in those without.
Research published in March 2023 reported an increased prevalence of IBD in people with migraine with and without aura.
Could migraine increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease?
For the current study, researchers analyzed data from more than 10 million people through the nationwide healthcare system for South Korean citizens. About 3% of the study population had IBD.
Through the data, scientists found the incidence of IBD was significantly higher in people who had migraine compared to those who did not.
Scientists also reviewed the data through subgroups of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis incidences. People with migraine in both subgroups had a higher risk of developing either condition when compared to people without migraine.
After a migraine diagnosis, researchers found people were at a higher risk of developing Crohn’s disease, with a significant rise after a 5-year follow-up.
Additionally, within the subgroups, scientists reported that the impact of migraine on the risk of developing ulcerative colitis was more prominent in men than women.
