Migraine and Risk of Depression among Women (P04.232)

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Objective: To evaluate the association between migraine and incident depression in a large cohort of women without a history of depression at baseline. Background Studies have shown cross-sectional relationships between migraine and depression. However, few studies have been able to evaluate the association between migraine and incident depression. Design/Methods: Prospective cohort study among 36,154 women enrolled in the Women9s Health Study who provided information about migraine status at baseline, did not have a history of depression prior to baseline and who provided information about depression diagnoses during follow-up. Women were classified as either having active migraine with aura, active migraine without aura, past history of migraine (report of migraine history but no active migraine in the year prior to baseline) or no history of migraine. During follow-up, women provided information on the dates of new diagnoses of depression. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between migraine status and incident depression. Results: At baseline, 6456 women reported any history of migraine, of whom 1815 (28.1%) reported active migraine with aura. During a mean of 14.3 years of follow-up, 3971 incident cases of depression occurred. Women with any history of migraine had 1.36 times the risk of developing depression compared to women without a history of migraine (95% CI: 1.27, 1.47). Presence of migraine aura did not modify this association (RR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.62 for migraine with aura compared to RR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.44 for migraine without aura). Women with a past history of migraine had 1.41 times the risk of developing depression (95% CI: 1.24, 1.59). Conclusions: Women with active migraine or past history of migraine are at increased risk of developing depression compared to women with no history of migraine. Supported by: The Women9s Health Study is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grants HL-043851, HL-080467, HL-082740, and HL-075771) and the National Cancer Institute (grant CA-047988). Disclosure: Dr. Rist has nothing to disclose. Dr. Buring has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kurth has received personal compensation for activities with Merck & Co. & MAP Pharmaceuticals as a speaker and participant on an expert panel. Dr. Kurth has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for the British Medical Journal.