Hormonal Exposure in Womb May Affect Migraine Risk During Adulthood

Nearly 51,872 individuals (from prior Swedish Twin Registry studies) were enrolled in the present study based on criteria of the International Headache Society Classification of Headache Disorders.

Prenatal Factors in Migraine

The study examined various genetic factors that were involved to drive the migraine risk among the opposite-sex twin in utero—females and males.

It was found that prenatal environment factors hold the potential to underwrite the migraine risk in later life. In addition, the risk also differs between females and males.

“We are the first to show that females with a male co-twin have a higher risk of migraine compared to females with a female co-twin, suggesting that prenatal factors, possibly relating to in utero hormone levels, may contribute to migraine risk. We are also the first to present evidence that genetic factors related to migraine risk may be different between females and males,” says Morgan Fitzgerald, lead author of the study, from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

Targeted Treatment for Migraine

The study findings thereby lay out differences that contribute to migraine risk among opposite genders.

These data may further help for improved clinical care, along with effective and targeted treatment options against the devastating disease – migraine.


“Unfortunately, age at onset was not available in the Swedish Twin Registry data. In fact, most studies do not ask individuals when their migraine attacks first start. In the future, we hope to examine how age at migraine onset coincides with the timing of critical hormonal events like puberty,” says Fitzgerald.

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Source: Medindia