Study debunks myth: Caffeine does not cause migraines

American sleep researchers have debunked the myth of coffee-induced headaches. The researchers found no significant differences between subjects who drank little, more or no coffee.

Only a few studies have examined the link between caffeine and migraines, wrote the researchers led by Suzanne Bertisch of the Department of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and their co-authors. Their research appeared in early February in the journal ‘Headpijn’.

As part of the study, they surveyed 101 adults with doctor-diagnosed episodic migraines and then followed them for six weeks. They electronically recorded their health status twice a day. After the end of the observation period, complete data from 97 subjects were available.

The results clearly spoke against a link between caffeine consumption and headache attacks. “The average number of days per month with headaches among the 20 participants without habitual caffeine consumption was 7.1 days, comparable to that of the 65 participants with one to two servings of caffeinated drinks (7.4 days) and that of the twelve participants with three or more drinks. up to four servings per day (5.9 days),” according to the publication’s summary.

The duration of the migraine episodes that occurred was de facto the same in the three groups, each just under nine hours. On a scale of 0 to 100, the intensity of pain attacks was 43.8 among those who abstained from caffeine, 43.1 among those who drank one to two servings per day, and 46.5 in the group who drank three to four cups. drank coffee or something like that. drink containing caffeine.

“We found no correlation between habitual consumption of caffeinated drinks and the frequency, duration or severity of headache symptoms,” the scientific study concluded. The data did not support the recommendation that patients with migraine avoid caffeine. The work was funded, among others, by the American National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

According to figures from Berlin’s Charite University Hospital, six to eight percent of men and more than twice as many women suffer from migraines. Despite relatively good treatment and prophylactic options, many affected people are severely burdened by the pain attacks.

In Switzerland, the population in the higher mountain areas complains of headaches more often than in the lowlands. Bern is the migraine stronghold in Switzerland, as shown last year by an evaluation by health insurer Sanitas. (sda/apa)