People who suffer from migraines are twice as likely to be depressed as others without debilitating headaches, according to a new study.
And those who experience migraines, particularly people younger than 30, are also more likely to consider suicide, the Canadian researchers said. Routine screenings and interventions are needed for those migraine sufferers, the study authors contend.
“We are not sure why younger migraineurs have such a high likelihood of depression and suicidal ideation,” study coauthor Meghan Schrumm said in a University of Toronto news release.
“It may be that younger people with migraines have not yet managed to find adequate treatment or develop coping mechanisms to minimize pain and the impact of this chronic illness on the rest of their lives,” Schrumm suggested.
The study, published online in the journal Depression Research and Treatment, involved more than 6,000 Canadians who said they had been diagnosed with migraines. The researchers compared them to a much larger group who did not report having migraines.
As in previous studies, migraines were much more common among women, with one in every seven reporting them, compared with one in every 16 men.
Of study participants, more than 8% of men and 12% of women who experienced migraines also suffered from depression, compared to slightly more than 3% of men and about 6% of women who did not have migraines.
Younger people with migraines were much more likely than older patients to develop symptoms of depression. Women younger than 30 who suffered from migraines had six times the odds of being depressed than adults 65 and older. Migraine sufferers who were single or had trouble with daily activities were also at increased risk for depression.
Men and women with migraines were also much more likely than those without the headaches to have considered committing suicide seriously. Although nearly 16% of men and 18% of women with migraines said they thought about taking their own life, about 8% of men and 9% of women who didn’t have migraines said the same.
Although the study found associations between having migraines, depression and suicidal thoughts, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
Based on the findings, study lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson, chair of the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, concluded there is a need for routine screening and interventions for depression and suicidal thoughts among young and unmarried people who suffer from migraines as well as for those who are limited in their daily activities.

