People with migraines are already at high risk for mental health issues like depression. Given the added stressors during the pandemic, such as disruptions in medication and healthcare access, the study aimed to explore how these factors may have affected the mental health of individuals with migraines.
A recent longitudinal study from the University of Toronto explored the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults living with migraine.
In a study of over 2,000 older adults with migraines from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, researchers found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted depression rates. More than 1 in 7 older adults with migraines experienced depression for the first time, while about half of those with a prior history of depression saw a recurrence during the pandemic.
Senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW), said, “People living with migraine are already known to be highly vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes, such as depression. Considering the increases in stressors during the pandemic, such as disruptions to medication and healthcare access, we wanted to understand how this may have impacted the mental health of those with migraine.”
A Change In Diet Could Help Stop Your Migraine
The researchers identified key risk factors for depression in older adults with migraines during the pandemic. Increased family conflict was linked to a five-fold higher risk of developing new depression and a three-fold higher risk of depression recurrence.
Co-author Andie MacNeil explained that family discord during lockdowns, combined with reduced Access to stress-relief activities like outdoor exercise and socializing, likely contributed to these mental health challenges. Additionally, difficulty accessing healthcare during the pandemic was also associated with a higher risk of developing depression in this population.
Co-author Aneisha Taunque, a research assistant at the Institute for Life Course and Aging, said, “Access to comprehensive healthcare was already recognized as a major challenge for people with migraine before the pandemic. We know Access to healthcare worsened during the pandemic, which may have exacerbated mental health challenges among this population.”
Men and women with migraine have a higher chance of experiencing an ischemic stroke
Increased time spent caregiving or challenges related to caregiving were also linked to a higher risk of developing depression during the pandemic. These caregiving stresses, similar to difficulties in accessing healthcare, approximately doubled the risk of incident depression among older adults with migraines.
Co-author Ying Jiang, a Senior Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said, “Caregiving responsibilities can be extremely challenging for people living with debilitating pain, such as that caused by migraine—and many people reported increases in their caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic.”
The authors emphasized the importance of ongoing research to examine depression among people with migraine.
“It will be important to identify if the observed increases were a temporary occurrence due to pandemic-related stressors or if these trends have persisted after the pandemic,” said Fuller-Thomson. “This knowledge can help inform targeted screening and intervention for people with migraine.”
Journal Reference:
- MacNeil A, Taunque A, Leo SN, Li G, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Fuller-Thomson E. The Mental Health Toll of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults with Migraine: A Prospective Analysis of Depression Using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Journal of Pain Research. DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S469798