What are the causes and risk factors of migraine?
Migraine awareness is high, and recent medical research indicates that migraines are caused by inherited mutations in genes which control brain activity. Migraines usually develop before the age of 40 and occur more commonly in women than men and in Caucasians more than in African Americans or Asians. Migraine incidence in children is equal in boys and girls, but migraines become three times more common in girls than in boys during adolescence, possibly due to hormonal effects.
Migraine onset begins with the release of serotonin, which can be triggered by stress, particular foods, sensations, medications, or hormone levels. For instance, migraines are induced in some people by glaring light, smells, or noise, or by emotional stress. In addition, lack of sleep, hypoglycemia caused by skipped meals, alcohol (especially red wine), excessive exercise, changes in altitude or weather, or MSG, nitrate, or tyramine-containing foods trigger migraine headache onset in some people. Women's issues of heightened stress perception and cyclic hormonal fluctuations may account for the increased incidence in women. Medications such as birth control pills, drugs that dilate blood vessels or alter brain blood flow (for example, nitroglycerin, antihypertensives, anti-inflammatories, or bronchodilators), or chronically used head pain remedies can cause migraine headache
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