Study Finds No Causal Link Between Migraine and Glaucoma

Migraines are believed to be associated with an increased risk of glaucoma development due to shared systemic vasculopathy and endothelial dysfunction, as migraines often lead to symptoms including these two traits; however, contrary research speculates that the two conditions stem from separate sources that have shared biological pathways and symptoms. Photo: Optovue. Click image to enlarge. A genetic analysis published in Medicine found no evidence that migraine increased the risk of glaucoma, nor that glaucoma increased the risk of migraine.Challenging the long-standing idea that migraine is a causal risk factor for glaucoma, the researchers used bidirectional Mendelian randomization in the study to find that the opposite was the case. Instead, they reported “no evidence” that migraines—including migraine with aura and migraine without aura—caused glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). They also found no evidence that glaucoma increased the risk of developing migraine.The authors also used summary data from large genome-wide association studies to examine whether inherited genetic variants linked to one condition also increased the likelihood of developing the other. The analysis included genetic data from a biobank in FInnland, with migraine data from 184,654 individuals, including 8,547 cases, and glaucoma data from 218,792 individuals, including 8,591 cases. The study focused on participants of European ancestry and, in addition, evaluated migraines with aura and migraines without aura separately, as well as POAG and PACG.In this analysis, researchers found no significant associations in either direction. For example, migraine was not associated with overall glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma or primary angle-closure glaucoma. An additional reverse analysis showed that glaucoma and its subtypes did not increase the risk of migraine or either migraine subtype, with multiple sensitivity analyses supporting the reliability of the findings, the researchers explained in their study.Previous observational studies had suggested migraine might increase glaucoma risk because both conditions involve vascular dysfunction and neurovascular regulation. However, the authors noted that shared pathways do not necessarily indicate a direct causal relationship.The researchers concluded in their paper that migraine and glaucoma likely develop through “independent genetic variants.” They added that while their findings help clarify conflicting evidence from earlier observational studies, additional research on more diverse populations is needed to determine whether the results extend beyond “individuals of European ancestry,” as this factor “restricts the generalizability” of the study.Click here for the journal source. Kou Z, Zhang H, Hou X. Migraine is not a risk factor for glaucoma: Evidence from a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study. Medicine. June 26, 2026. [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.