A University of Calgary-led study has found evidence that children with migraine-prone genes may be at higher risk of developing additional headaches after a concussion, which is known to be associated with lingering symptoms up to six months after the injury.
Selina Orr, MD, associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, and Keith Yates, PhD, professor in the School of Arts, led the study, which studied more than 600 children between the ages of 8 and 16 who exhibited concussion symptoms and followed them for six months after the injury. This is the first study to examine specific genetic factors related to migraine and post-concussion outcomes. They investigated the genetics of migraine in three ways: family history reporting, polygenic risk scores (i.e., scores that quantify the genetic risk of migraine by summing the effects of migraine-related gene variants within an individual), and specific genetic variants. They found that a family history of migraine and mutations in four genes were associated with a higher risk of developing severe headaches after concussion in children.
There is growing interest in the genetics of headaches to identify who is at risk. Once we understand the biological systems that genes govern, we can begin to identify who responds to which drugs, and we can even begin to develop new drugs. ”
Dr. Keith Yates, Principal Investigator
Knowing that children and adolescents who carry more migraine genes may have worse post-concussion outcomes is important information for treatment providers. This is because patients with a genetic predisposition may require closer monitoring and earlier and more targeted headache treatment. There are also potential implications for which treatments are given, including which pain medications are most effective. In the future, researchers say rapid genetic testing could reveal who is more susceptible to post-concussion headaches, opening the door to personalized treatments.
“There’s a signal here that carrying the migraine gene may increase your risk for more headaches after a concussion, which we know is associated with worse long-term outcomes after a concussion,” says Serena Orr, Ph.D., lead author of the study.
Migraine is a major cause of neurologically related disability in children and adolescents through early and mid-adulthood. Besides headaches, many post-concussion symptoms can also be associated with migraines, such as blurred vision, balance problems, and dizziness. Researchers say post-concussion headaches can have a significant impact on children and adolescents’ daily lives, including their performance in school and participation in social relationships.
The next step for researchers is to replicate the study and results in other populations, including adults. Researchers say this study is an exciting first step because it shows that family history of migraine is important and that specific genetic variants are associated with post-concussion outcomes. The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Neurology Genetics.
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Reference magazines:
Nose, SL, others. (2026). Genetic risk for posttraumatic headache and migraine in children. Neurology Genetics. DOI: 10.1212/NXG.0000000000200371. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/NXG.0000000000200371
