Abstract
Patients with migraine are reportedly at increased risk of developing dementia. We aimed to investigate the association between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use and dementia risk in migraine patients. This longitudinal cohort study used the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database to identify 32,386 diagnosed migraine patients aged 20 years and above who received treatment from 1997 to 2010. To balance comparability between TCM users and non-TCM users, we randomly selected equal numbers from each group, and compared subgroups compiled based on combinations of age, sex, index year, and year of migraine diagnosis. All enrollees received follow-up until the end of 2013 to measure dementia incidence. We identified 1,402 TCM users and non-TCM users after frequency matching. A total of 134 subjects were newly diagnosed with dementia during the follow-up period. TCM users were significantly less likely to develop dementia than non-TCM users. The most frequently prescribed formulae and single Chinese herbal products were Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San and Yan-Hu-Suo, respectively. This population-based study revealed a decreased dementia risk in migraine patients with TCM use. These findings may provide a reference for dementia prevention strategies, and help integrate TCM into clinical intervention programs that provide a favorable prognosis for migraine patients.
Highlights
Migraine is a primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of moderate to severe pulsating headache, most often unilateral, that is aggravated by physical activity and associated with nausea, photophobia, or phonophobia [1]
The majority of the single Chinese herbal products (CHPs) and www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget all but two of the formulae CHPs (Jia-Wei-Xiao-YaoSan and Ger-Gen-Tang) were associated with significant reductions in hazard ratios (HR). In this nationwide cohort study, we identified migraine patients and compared the risks of developing dementia between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) users and non-TCM users
The main findings were as follows: (1) TCM use may prevent dementia in migraine patients because it was associated with a 0.65-fold lower risk
Summary
Migraine is a primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of moderate to severe pulsating headache, most often unilateral, that is aggravated by physical activity and associated with nausea, photophobia, or phonophobia [1]. The reported prevalence of migraine is 15% in Europe, 13% in North America, 9% in Asia, and 5% in Africa [2]. Updated statistics from US government health surveillance studies show that migraine remains a highly prevalent medical condition, affecting approximately 15% of Americans annually [4]. A recent epidemiologic study has demonstrated that migraine is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia [6]. How to prevent the occurrence of dementia in patients with migraine is an essential public health issue
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