Is climate change causing more intense migraines? - Kathimerini English Edition
Is climate change causing more intense migraines? | eKathimerini.com
Is climate change causing more intense migraines?
Climate change is being considered by specialists as a factor that may be responsible for the occurrence of more intense migraines.
This was hinted at in a recent report in the journal Headache, the publication of the American Headache Society, which found that, while the number of Americans suffering from migraines has remained quite stable over the past 30 years, the condition’s impact on their lives has worsened.
Greek academics tell Kathimerini there are also indications of similar trends in Greece. However, they stress it is premature to attribute this increase to climate change, given the many factors that may influence the intensity of migraines, including the stress of the Western lifestyle.
Moreover, in recent years there has been greater awareness of migraines in developed countries, since there are now organized structures to deal with the condition, while the sufferers themselves are better informed too.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.