Hunter Boyce | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) As temperatures continue to rise, so will cases of migraine headaches. That’s the latest from a new study helmed by University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers. The discovery comes just days before the official kickoff of summer.
With global temperatures more than 2 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, last year was Earth’s hottest on record . And May 2024 was a record-breaking month , marking the 12th consecutive month of record high temperatures. According to Dr.
Vincent Martin, MD, director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at University of Cincinnati’s Gardner Neuroscience Institute, president of the National Headache Foundation and lead author of the recent study, these temperatures are going to mean more painful headaches for some Georgia residents. “Weather change is one of the most common trigger factors for migraine,” he said, according to a university news release. The study, produced by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA , tested the efficacy of a new preventive treatment on headaches caused by rising temperatures by cross-referencing regional weather data with 71,030 daily diary records of 6,060 migraine patients.
The researchers discovered there was a 6% increase in headache occurrences for every 10 degrees the temperature warmed. “What we found was that increases in temperature were a significant factor in migraine occurrence across all regions of the United States,” Martin said.