Pregnant women with a history of migraine are at elevated risk for gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, and of delivering their baby preterm, new research suggests.
In a large prospective study, researchers also found a link between migraine with aura and increased preeclampsia risk.
Dr Alexandra Purdue-Smithe
Overall, the findings suggest women with a history of migraine may benefit from enhanced monitoring during pregnancy, co-investigator Alexandra Purdue-Smithe, PhD, associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.
"Our results suggest that migraine history may be an important consideration in obstetric risk assessment," Purdue-Smithe added.
The findings, which have not yet been peer reviewed, will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2022 Annual Meeting in April.
Common Neurovascular Disorder
Migraine is a common neurovascular disorder, affecting about 15% of adults. The condition carries "a pretty remarkable sex bias" as it affects up to three times more women than men, and about a quarter of women in the reproductive age bracket of 18-44 years, Purdue-Smithe noted.
Despite this, relatively little is known about migraine and pregnancy risks, she said.
What isknown is that women with migraine have a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and chronic hypertension; and these factors can also increase risk for pregnancy complications, she added.
