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Updated: Jul 7, 2025
Murine Fecal Isolation and Microbiota Transplantation
Published on: May 26, 2023
Exploring the role of gut microbiota in migraine risk: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Xiangyue Meng1, Quan Li1, Delong Wang2
1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Objectives:
The presence of intestinal flora in the gut has been linked to migraines in recent studies, but whether the association is causal or due to bias remains to be clarified. We aimed to explore whether there is a potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and migraine risk with this study.
Materials And Methods:
We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomized analysis study to explore whether gut microbiota has a causal relationship with migraine using publicly available data from large-scale genome-wide association studies. The inverse variance weighting was used as the main method, and weighted median and MR-Egger were used as supplementary methods for causal inference. Sensitivity analyses, including leave-one-out analysis, Cochran Q test, and MR-Egger intercept test, were used to verify the robustness of the results.
Results:
After rigorous quality control of the results, we identified that genetic predisposition towards a higher abundance of genus.Lactobacillus was causally associated with higher of migraine (IVW OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.03 - 1.18, p = .004), whereas the higher abundance of family.Prvotellaceae predicted a decreased risk of migraine (IVW OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80 - 0.98, p = .02). Sensitivity analyses indicated the results were not biased by pleiotropy.
Conclusion:
According to our research, there is evidence showing that gut microbiota may be involved in migraine development, which suggested that a stool examination might be helpful to recognize those with a higher risk of migraine. Further mechanisms remained to be elucidated in future studies.
Insights
Gut bacteria may influence migraine risk. Higher Lactobacillus abundance is linked to increased migraine risk, while Prevotellaceae may decrease it, suggesting potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
Background:
- Emerging evidence suggests a link between gut microbiota and migraines.
- The causal relationship and potential biases require clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota composition and migraine risk.
- To utilize Mendelian randomization to infer causality.
Main Methods:
- Two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis using large-scale genome-wide association study data.
- Inverse variance weighting as the primary analysis method, supplemented by weighted median and MR-Egger.
- Sensitivity analyses including leave-one-out and heterogeneity tests to ensure result robustness.
Main Results:
- A causal association was found between higher abundance of Lactobacillus genus and increased migraine risk (OR = 1.10).
- Conversely, a higher abundance of Prevotellaceae family was causally associated with decreased migraine risk (OR = 0.89).
- Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings and ruled out pleiotropy.
Conclusions:
- Gut microbiota may play a role in migraine pathogenesis.
- Stool examination could potentially identify individuals at higher risk for migraine.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
