Migraine History May Raise Risk for Peripartum Depression, Anxiety

History of migraine linked to anxiety at gestational week 17, mixed depression and anxiety at gestational week 32

THURSDAY, Oct. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A history of migraine prior to pregnancy is associated with anxiety and with mixed depression and anxiety in mid-pregnancy and late pregnancy, respectively, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Nike Zoe Welander, from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues surveyed a sample of 4,831 women about their history of migraine prior to pregnancy. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was completed at gestational weeks 17 and 32 and at postpartum week 6. The associations between migraine and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and mixed depression and anxiety were examined.

The researchers found that at most time points, migraine was associated with separate and mixed symptoms of depression and anxiety in crude estimates. Migraine was associated with anxiety at week 17 and with mixed depression and anxiety at week 32 in adjusted analyses (adjusted odds ratios, 1.69 and 1.45, respectively). After adjustments, none of the other associations remained statistically significant.

“Our results suggest that different pathophysiological mechanisms may be responsible for the association between migraine and depression and/or anxiety at different time points throughout the peripartum period,” the authors write. “Future studies are needed to determine which mechanisms are responsible for these differences.”