If the study findings are confirmed in larger populations, the next step would be to try to pinpoint the gene (or more likely, genes) that trigger migraine. More than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines, which are characterized by pain (usually on one side of the head), nausea or vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light or sound. About 15 million American adults are clinically depressed.
Seymour Diamond, MD, the executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation, says that despite the study’s findings, the jury is still out on whether migraine and depression share an underlying genetic cause. “There may be a genetic link between some migraine types and depression, but this study needs more elaboration before you would say there is an absolute genetic link between the two conditions,” he says.
Dr. Diamond also emphasizes that the study does not show that migraines are inevitable in depressed people, and vice versa. “This does not mean that if you have depression, you will have migraines, or if you have migraine, you will have depression,” he says. “There is a certain subgroup that this occurs in, and even that is not a given.”
Genetic testing for migraine susceptibility is still a ways off, but in the meantime, if you have symptoms of depression or migraine, discussing your family history with your doctor may increase your chance of receiving an accurate diagnosis, especially if your symptoms are borderline, says Andrew H. Ahn, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in Gainesville, Fla., who co-authored an editorial that accompanied the new study.
“For people with clear-cut migraine or depression, the presence of a family history does not add a lot to the diagnosis or care,” he says. “However, in those in whom the diagnosis is uncertain, obtaining a thorough and careful family history could be extremely helpful.“
