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Migraine might be influenced by financial stress
STATES CHRONICLE – Are you stressed about your financial situation? A recent study discovered a connection between people exhibiting a certain gene and the development of migraine as a result of financial stress. The gene in question is related to one’s circadian rhythm, or the cycle of sleep and wakefulness.
What causes migraine?
Around 1 billion people in the world suffer from migraine, a debilitating condition leaving them unable to perform everyday activities. Therefore, researchers from Semmelweis University in Hungary wanted to see what factors might trigger a migraine.
For the study, they took 2,349 participants, and looked for two variants of the CLOCK gene. This gene influences a person’s sleep-wake cycle, which is also known as the circadian rhythm. The presence of this gene in someone’s body might make that person more likely to suffer migraines associated with chronic stress.
Apart from regulating the sleep cycle, this gene is related to other rhythmic patterns of the body. For instance, it influences the body temperature, or the levels of the main stress hormone, cortisol. This is why researchers thought the presence of the gene might lead to a stress-triggered migraine.
The presence of certain gene variants associated with financial stress cause migraines
At first, researchers found no direct connection between the presence of the gene and migraines. Then, they measured the financial stress suffered by the participants, by having them answer a short questionnaire. The results showed how those people with the gene variants were more likely to have a migraine if they suffered about 20 percent financial stress.
These genes contain certain proteins which control body rhythms. Therefore, since they concentrate on how to control these complex mechanisms, they might be unable to prevent the body from suffering a migraine when confronted with acute financial stress.
The study couldn’t find the direct causer of migraine. However, researchers could observe how genetics combined with financial stress were associated with this condition.
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