1-2 caffeinated drinks not linked with higher risk of migraines; 3 may trigger them

Posted on September 26, 2019

Nausea, mood swings and hallucinations are all symptoms for migraines, one of the most prominent illness in the world. However, the triggers for these severe headaches are still rather unknown. Potential triggers such as the lack of sleep has been found to increase the risk of migraine, but the research on immediate triggers of migraines are still not as extensive.

A team of researchers embarked on a study to investigate the role of caffeine on the experience of migraines. 98 adults with frequent episodes of migraines kept an electronic diary which is updated twice a day for about six weeks.

The participants were asked to record the total amount of caffeinated drinks they had, when they felt headaches, how intense they were and the medications they took to reduce the symptoms. Other information such as the alcoholic intake, common migraine triggers and depressive symptoms were also collected.

Researchers used a self-matched analysis to establish the relationships between caffeine consumption and migraine headache on the same day or the next day. Results did not indicate any correlations between having two servings of caffeinated drinks and getting migrate headaches on the day itself. However, there was a higher chance of the participants experiencing same-day headaches if they consumed three or more caffeinated drinks.

Therefore, caffeine’s impact on migraine depends both on dose and frequency, as well as individual differences. Further research is needed to confirm these findings, but this study serves as an important foundation for more research on subsequent researches.


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Source material from Science Daily