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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Using Retinal Imaging to Study Dementia
Published on: November 6, 2017
Migraine and the Risk of Dementia in the General Population
Cevdet Acarsoy1, Daniel Bos1,2, Sanne S Mooldijk1
1Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Introduction:
Migraine and dementia are prevalent disorders with high societal impact; however, research regarding their association remains inconsistent.
Methods:
We analyzed 6888 participants from the prospective Rotterdam Study. Migraine status was assessed (2006-2011) via validated questionnaire. Participants were followed for a median of 9.4 years until January 2020. Dementia diagnoses were confirmed through in-person screenings and medical record linkages, including neuroimaging.
Results:
At baseline, 1041 participants (15.1%) had migraine. Over 62,180 person-years, 491 participants developed dementia (379 [77.2%] with Alzheimer's). Cox models revealed that migraine was associated with a lower risk of dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51-0.95) and Alzheimer's disease (HR 0.58, 95% CI: 0.40-0.85).
Discussion:
This study suggests that migraine is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Whether this reflects biological neuroprotection or methodological factors is currently unclear, necessitating further investigation.
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