Weather may trigger headache

BOSTON, March 11 (UPI) -- Higher temperatures and lower barometric pressure may raise the risk of headaches, U.S. researchers said.

However the study, published in the journal Neurology, suggested air pollution didn't have a significant effect on headache.

"Air temperature and pressure have been widely cited as a possible trigger for headaches, particularly migraines, but the potential connection hasn't been well-documented," study author Dr. Kenneth Mukamal of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston said in a statement.

"There is growing interest in exploring whether there is any link between air pollution and headaches. While our study did not find an association, other studies have shown that air pollution has possible links to other health problems like heart disease and stroke."

Researchers looked at weather and air pollutant factors one to three days before headaches diagnosed for 7,054 people at a Boston emergency department over seven years.

The researchers found higher temperatures increased the risk of headache by 7.5 percent for every 5-degree Celsius increase in temperature. Lower barometric air pressure within the two or three days leading up to a person's hospital visit also increased the risk of non-migraine headaches but air pollution levels seemed to have no effect on the risk of headache.