Migraine may double facial paralysis risk

Taipei - Migraine may double the risk of a nervous system condition that causes facial paralysis called Bell’s palsy, new research says.

“This is a very new association between migraine and Bell’s palsy,” said study author Shuu-Jiun Wang from National Yang-Ming University in Taipei.

“It also suggests that these two conditions may share a common underlying link,” the author added.

For the study, two groups of 1,36,704 people aged 18 and older, one group with migraine and one without, were followed for an average of three years.

During that time, 671 people in the migraine group and 365 of the non-migraine group were newly diagnosed with Bell’s palsy.

People with migraine were twice as likely to develop Bell’s palsy even after researchers accounted for other factors which could increase the risk of the conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.

“Infection, inflammation or heart and vascular problems could be shared causes for these diseases,” the author said.

The study appeared in the journal Neurology.