Genetic and environmental causes of migraine: The HUNT Study
Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Migraine is a common disorder, but there is still little knowledge about what causes it. However, it is likely to involve a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. \nThe overall aim of the thesis was to examine both environmental and genetic risk factors for migraine. More specifically, the aims were to explore whether fetal growth restriction was associated with later development of migraine, to clarify the association between parental migraine and offspring migraine, separating maternal and paternal effects and to explore whether genetic variation in the mitochondrial genome was associated with migraine. \nFetal growth restriction was associated with migraine in males, but not in females. This may indicate that disturbances in early brain development may affect the risk of migraine and that males are especially vulnerable. \nBoth maternal and paternal migraine increased the odds of offspring migraine, but the odds were larger for mother-offspring than for father-offspring. The fact that the parent-offspring association was stronger in mothers than in fathers, may be due to inherited variation in mitochondrial DNA, which is strictly maternally inherited.\nHowever, by performing the first mitochondrial genome-wide association study of migraine, there was no evidence that variation in mitochondrial DNA plays a role in migraine pathogenesis. In addition, no associations were found for nuclear variants in genes encoding mitochondrial proteins.
Author: Sigrid Børte
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3112856097