Parental migraine in relation to migraine in offspring: Family linkage analyses from the HUNT Study
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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Date
2019Metadata
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Abstract
Background
Migraine is known to run in families. While some clinical studies have indicated that migraine is disproportionally transmitted through the maternal line, this has not been examined in a population-based setting.
Methods
We utilized a large, population-based cohort study from Norway, the HUNT Study. Using a cross-sectional design, our sample consisted of 13,731 parents and 8970 offspring. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for active migraine and non-migrainous headache in offspring, given active maternal or paternal headache.
Results
There was a significant association between maternal migraine and offspring migraine (odds ratio 2.76, 95% confidence interval 2.18–3.51). A weaker association (p = 0.004 for comparison with maternal migraine) was found between paternal migraine and offspring migraine (odds ratio 1.67, 95% confidence interval 1.33–2.28). For non-migrainous headache, there was a significant association between mothers and offspring (odds ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.10–1.43), but not between fathers and offspring.
Conclusions
Parental migraine is associated with offspring migraine, with a stronger association for maternal migraine. This may indicate maternal-specific transmission.