Migraine Does Not Affect Cognitive Decline: Results From the Maastricht Aging Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of migraine and related pharmacotherapy on cognitive performance and cognitive change over time in a longitudinal population-based study. METHODS: Migraineurs (n = 99) and healthy controls (n = 1724) participating in the Maastricht Aging Study were cognitively tested at baseline and after 6 years. Scores on Mini Mental State Examination, immediate and delayed recall tests, and tests for simple and complex speed were compared for both groups. Generalized Estimating Equations analyses were performed to test the longitudinal effects of migraines on cognition. Effects of migraine medication use were also tested. RESULTS: Migraine headaches were found to have no effect on any of the cognitive measures. Medication use also had no effect on all cognitive measures. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found that migraine headaches or migraine-related medication use are risk or protective factors for cognitive dysfunction or cognitive deterioration over time.