Migraines and mentall illness may go hand in hand

New research finds migraine headaches and mental illness sometimes go hand-in-hand.

Doctors studied more than 600 people with migraines and found they were at higher risk for a variety of mental health disorders, including depression, panic attacks and phobias.

Migraine headaches are extremely common, affecting up to 1 in 10 people. But new research suggests that migraines may also be related to mental health disorders. A study of more than 4,000 German adults found those suffering from migraine headaches were twice as likely to report a mental health problem.

For example, migraine sufferers were twice as likely to have depression, three times as likely to have bipolar disorder, and four times more likely to experience agoraphobia – a fear of leaving the house.

In a majority of cases, patients had the headaches before they developed mental health problems, suggesting migraines could be a signal of trouble to come.

Researchers theorize abnormalities in brain chemicals could contribute to both the headaches and the psychiatric disorders. They also suggest that the depression and anxiety, rather than headache pain, cause the majority of day-to-day difficulties for migraine suffers.

Doctors say treating both the migraines and the mental health issues would improve life for patients who suffer from the combination of problems.