Global warming affects health at different levels. Air pollution is in particular a factor responsible for significant respiratory problems, and the shortage of water as well as its contamination favors the increase in water-borne pathologies. According to a recent study presented at the 66th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Societyrising temperatures would also increase migraine attacks.
An increase in headaches linked to rising temperatures
In this research, researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Errex Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals US Inc (United States) studied the effects Fremanezumab, a medicine injected under the skin, to prevent migraines caused by high heat.
For the purposes of this study, they cross-referenced 71,030 daily diaries of 660 migraine patients with regional weather data. The scientists then observed that there was a 6% increase in the risk of headaches for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature per day. However, the migraines subsided during periods of Fremanezumab treatment.
Migraines and increased temperature: treatment could be considered
“Climate change is one of the most common migraine triggers (…) What we found is that increasing temperature is an important factor in the onset of migraine in all regions of the United States It’s pretty amazing, considering all the climatic variations that occur across the country, that we can find one. [ndlr corrélation] which is also important”has explained Vincent Martin, lead author of the study and director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at the Gardner Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati in a statement.
Fremanezumab could therefore be an avenue to relieve people suffering from headaches triggered by weather conditions. However, these initial findings still need to be confirmed by further research.
