Migraines can ‘reduce risk of type 2 diabetes for women’

WOMEN who suffer from migraines have a significantly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, researchers have found.

They tracked 100,000 participants for a decade and found that those who had regular attacks had a 30 per cent lower risk of suffering the condition than other women.

One possible explanation is that migraines are triggered by low blood sugar, whereas high blood sugar is a feature of diabetes.

Another theory is that the natural compound CGRP, which causes migraines, also quickens the metabolism of blood sugar, cutting diabetes risk.

CGRP causes blood vessels intertwined with nerve endings in the head to swell up, resulting in intense headaches.

For those who did develop type 2 diabetes later, their migraines appeared to disappear in the years before it was diagnosed, the study found.

The findings may come as a silver lining for the six million women in Britain who have regular migraines, which can last up to 72 hours and cause dizziness and nausea.

Writing in the JAMA Neurology journal, the scientists said: ‘We may speculate that the vasodilation... induced by CGRP is impaired after diabetes appears, which may explain the reduced prevalence of active migraine.’

The researchers, led by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in France, only assessed female participants and do not know if the findings apply to men.

‘Reduced prevalence’