A large study by J. Alexander Cole and his team shows a definite link between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and migraine.  The study included almost 125,000 people, some with IBS and some without.  The question was simply, how many of those people also have migraine, depression, or fibromyalgia?

We’ve known for a long time that fibromyalgia, depression and IBS seem to be linked to migraine.  But a study this large had the potential to prove the connection more than ever before – and it did.  IBS sufferers were 60% more likely to have migraine than the control group, 40% more likely to suffer from depression, and 80% more likely to suffer from fibromyalgia.  There’s no doubt that there’s a connection – but what is it?

Dr Reza Shaker of the Medical College of Wisconsin says rightly,”Clinical observations of patients with pain syndromes indicate that we are dealing with a syndrome bigger than a single organ.”  He notes the increased neurological sensitivity in many patients, which may be the clue that leads to the common cause.  Dr Harrison Pope from Harvard Medical School suggests that there may be a genetic root cause.  Neither of these suggestions should surprise migraineurs.

If you want all the technical details, read the abstract of this study here: Migraine, fibromyalgia, and depression among people with IBS: a prevalence study