AHS 2022 | Updates on lifestyle behaviors and migraine

Elizabeth Seng, PhD, FAHS, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, discusses lifestyle-related behaviors in migraines. It is increasingly becoming evident of the possibility that lifestyle factors are acting as triggers for migraines. However, these may also be premonitory symptoms; individuals could make a migraine-associated cause and effect relationship between factors they deem to induce headaches. Yet these patients may already be in the early stages of a migraine attack. Therefore, it is vital to monitor these factors carefully and determine a new research methodology to differentiate between these approaches. Many strides are being made in understanding the role of diet and physical activity – learning that many previous assumptions have not been truly accurate. There is mounting evidence inferring the role of aerobic activity in migraine intervention; however, people are very unlikely to exercise during the height of a migraine attack. Going forward, the field should develop strategies to bring out the benefits of physical exercise, knowing that it may be difficult for patients to exercise during a migraine attack. This interview took place during the 2022 American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Scientific Meeting in Denver, CO.