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Updated: Jun 5, 2025
Gene-environment Interaction Models to Unmask Susceptibility Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: January 7, 2014
Investigating the causal and genetic relationship between migraine and Parkinson's disease
Ming-Gang Deng1,2, Xiuxiu Zhou1,2, Fang Liu3
1Department of Psychiatry, Wuhan Mental Health Center, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Objective:
The relationship between migraine and Parkinson's disease (PD) remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the causal and genetic associations between migraine and PD.
Methods:
Genetic data for migraine [any migraine (AM), migraine without aura (MO), and migraine with aura (MA)] and PD were sourced from the latest genome-wide meta-analyses conducted by the International Headache Genetics Consortium and the International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium, respectively. Various analyses were performed to evaluate the potential causal associations and explore genetic correlations between these conditions.
Results:
The analyses indicated that AM (odds ratio [OR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.91-1.14; p = 0.785), MO (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.84-1.07; p = 0.358), and MA (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.95-1.06; p = 0.846) were not significantly associated with the risk of PD. Similarly, reverse analyses also demonstrated no significant causality between PD and the risks of migraine or its subtypes. After adjusting for coronary heart disease, AM (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.90-1.10; p = 0.897), MO (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.86-1.03; p = 0.207), and MA (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.93-1.07; p = 0.902) remained unrelated to PD risk. Likewise, PD was found to be unassociated with AM (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-1.02; p = 0.168), MO (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.05; p = 0.287), and MA (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.93-1.13; p = 0.669). These null findings persisted even when adjusting for hypertension. Apart from above causal inference results, no significant genetic correlation was found between AM (rg = -0.06, p = 0.127), MA (rg = -0.05, p = 0.516), or MO (rg = -0.06, p = 0.492) and PD, and no correlations were observed across specific genomic regions. Additionally, no shared heritability was observed between PD and migraine, or its subtypes, in tissue expression.
Conclusion:
Our study suggests that there is no significant causal association or genetic correlation between migraine and PD from a genetic perspective.
Insights
This study found no significant causal link or genetic correlation between migraine and Parkinson's disease (PD). Genetic analyses of large datasets confirm no shared genetic basis, clarifying the controversial relationship between these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The relationship between migraine and Parkinson's disease (PD) is debated.
- Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding a potential link.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal and genetic associations between migraine and PD using large-scale genetic data.
- To clarify the controversial relationship between these two neurological conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genome-wide meta-analysis data from the International Headache Genetics Consortium and the International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium.
- Performed various genetic analyses, including causal inference and genetic correlation analyses, for different migraine subtypes (any migraine, migraine with aura, migraine without aura) and PD.
- Adjusted analyses for potential confounders like coronary heart disease and hypertension.
Main Results:
- No significant causal association was found between any type of migraine (AM, MO, MA) and the risk of PD, in either direction.
- Reverse analyses also showed no significant causality between PD and migraine risk.
- No significant genetic correlation was detected between migraine subtypes and PD.
- No shared heritability was observed between PD and migraine in tissue expression.
Conclusions:
- The study concludes that there is no significant causal association or genetic correlation between migraine and PD from a genetic standpoint.
- These findings help resolve the controversy surrounding the relationship between migraine and Parkinson's disease.
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