Pirate's Cove

This is cult science at its best

Are migraines getting worse?
Doctors suggests that climate change, which causes more erratic and severe weather conditions, may be a trigger for more intense migraines.

Migraines are increasing in frequency and intensity among Americans: Could climate change be a reason?

Although the number of Americans who have migraines has remained stable for the last 30 years, their impact on people’s daily activities — including missing social events or being less productive at school or work — has become much worse, according to a recent study.

The report, published in early May in the journal Headache, analyzed 11 studies among U.S. adults from 1989 to 2018 on both episodic and chronic migraines. Researchers found the prevalence of migraines in the past three decades has remained stable, but found Migraine Disability Assessment Scale scores, which measure how migraines affect a person’ daily activities, jumped from 22.0% to 42.4% since 2004, the study found.

So, there aren’t more, just, soft people are saying they are much, much worse? It couldn’t have anything to do with other factors, like increased weight and obesity, lower exercise, more looking at smartphones, TVs/tablets/computers, especially close up and without proper eyewear, poor diets, more caffeine drinks, often with much higher content, and, hey, you never know, perhaps the increased usage of things like THC could be affecting this.

The Mount Sinai researchers note that the observed increase in the frequency and negative impact of migraines on work and home productivity may be due to increased social awareness of migraines and less stigma around the debilitating condition. Another factor could be environmental changes such as climate change. Erratic and severe weather conditions are known triggers for migraines, Cohen said.

“As extreme weather events, like hurricanes, become more frequent and intense, they could be contributing to an increase in migraine attacks and their severity,” he said.

They either are or aren’t. This isn’t science, it’s spitballing. They can put this forth as a hypothesis, and then do testing, but, this is like saying that that school causes leaves to fall, because school starting leads to Fall (I wish I could find the old blog post on this, which pulled from the now defunct Everything I Know Is Wrong Blog). It’s just spitballing and doomsaying. When they’ve done actual research following the scientific method, let us know.

There is some evidence that thunderstorms and barometric pressure can trigger headaches, but it’s unclear if “regular” air pollution — such as bad air from wildfires — is a migraine trigger, Collins added.

These weather changes may trigger a migraine by disrupting the balance of chemicals in the brain, like serotonin, according to the Mayo Clinic. Weather-related triggers include bright sunlight, extreme heat or cold, sun glare and high humidity.

Why talk about science when they do not have answers?

“Worsening climate conditions (including rising temperatures, extreme weather patterns, and escalating pollution) are likely to lead to effects of two types: heightened attack frequency in people who already have migraine, and an upsurge in the overall occurrence of migraine,” the scientists from University College London wrote.

That’s pure prognostication.