It's someting migraine sufferers have suspected for years: medical researchers have announced results that show migraines really can be triggered by the weather.
In a report published in this month's issue of Neurology, researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston revealed for the first time how weather and air pollution affect headache pain. Their study of 7,000 patients found that hot weather brings on migraines, and showed specifically that for every 5°C that temperature increases, there is a 7.5 per cent increase in risk of severe headache.
The study examined air pollution and weather against the time and date of the patients' visits to the ER department of the hospital from May 2000 to December 2007, and compared the results for the 7,000 patients who were diagnosed with migraine, tension headache or unspecified headache. Researchers looked at the air temperature, barometric pressure, humidity and air pollution during the three days before the patient's hospital visit to see what role they played in triggering serious headaches.
"We chose to monitor an ER department rather than a general practice surgery because we needed to get an exact time for the onset of the headache, and couldn't tell that from clinic visits," explained Kenneth Mukamal, the study's first author and a doctor in the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at BIDMC. Temperature changes were based on the general Boston area rather than precisely where the patient lived, or the precise environment where they work, but gave a good indication of general weather patterns.
Results showed that of all the environmental factors, air temperature in the 24 hours prior to the patient's hospital visit was most closely associated with headache symptoms. Lower barometric pressure 48 to 72 hours prior to the patient's visit also appeared to trigger headaches to a lesser degree, and air pollutants made no apparent difference.
"Certainly our results are consistent with the idea that severe headaches can be triggered by external factors," says Mukamal. "These findings help tell us that the environment around us does affect our health and, in terms of headaches, may be impacting many, many people on a daily basis."
He even goes so far as to suggest that greater environmental responsibility should be taken to avoid the risk of migraine in the future. As our planet heats up, more of us will suffer this debilitating condition.
"On a population basis, we need to be concerned about incremental temperature rises anyhow," he said, "and should advocate for responsible environmental management. The annual cost attributed to migraines is estimated at $17 billion (Dh62.5 billion), millions of people are adversely affected and the public health implications may be enormous."
According to the WHO, headaches are the most common nervous system disorder in the world, with migraines affecting up to eight per cent of men and 18 per cent of women worldwide. These severely painful headaches cause nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. They are two to three times more common in women than men, primarily because they can be hormonally driven; they often run in families and affect the 35-45 age group the most, although anyone can get them from puberty onwards.
There are two key types of migraine, those with aura and those without. About 10 per cent of migraine sufferers have auras, which can take several different forms, and warn the sufferer of an imminent attack. They might feel tired, thirsty, hungry, euphoric or excited, or they might see flashing lights or zigzag lines before their eyes, or experience numbness or dizziness. In extreme cases, loss of speech or partial paralysis can occur, all symptoms created by the nervous system. Non-aura migraines are distinct from tension or severe headaches because they come on suddenly with severe pain to the head, usually to just one side, plus sensitivity to light, sound and or smell. Moving makes the pain worse.
Migraines are set off by triggers, which include chocolate, cheese and other foods, stress, hormones, and dehydration. And, although it hasn't been proved in a large-scale test before, migraine sufferers have often said that changes in weather can affect their migraine patterns; now it looks like the anecdotal evidence has been proved right.
Peter Goadsby, professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco and UCL-Institute of Neurology in London, is a migraine expert and welcomed the research.
"It reinforces the effect of weather change in triggering migraine that has been shown in previous studies," he said. The research didn't have any other impact on how neurologists understand how our brains function in hot weather.
"We know, for example, that temperature affects multiple sclerosis, but there is no clear link as yet to explain the temperature finding in headaches," he said. And while dehydration plays a role in triggering migraines, he said that it wasn't the only reason for the rise in the problem during hot weather, suggesting that something more subtle is happening.
Recent research from the US has also shown that being obese puts you at greater risk of migraines: a large-scale study of 22,000 people by Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia last month revealed that those deemed to be abdominally obese by either body fat content or body mass index were more likely to report migraines or serious headaches. Naturally, losing weight was a key recommendation in controlling the problem.
And with obesity a growing problem in the Gulf states as well as internationally, not to mention concerns over rising temperatures and climate change, migraine sufferers will naturally be concerned that they will have more frequent attacks.
Unfortunately for sufferers, there's nothing you can do to control the weather. Doctors suggest that taking pills before you get a migraine, on the assumption that a temperature rise will bring one on, is a bad idea, so other than losing weight if you're at risk of obesity, what can you do to lower your risk of migraine?
Keeping cool, drinking plenty of water and avoiding other triggers such as rich foods, and carrying the correct drugs for your treatment when you know it's going to be hot are the key recommendations. Mukamal recommends that headache patients sit down with their doctors to identify the triggers that lead to their headache symptoms, adding that even though the weather can't be altered, doctors might be able to prescribe medication that can be administered to help avert the onset of weather-related headaches.
The American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology in Khalidiya, has a neurological specialist, Dr Deeb Maxwell Kayed, who is an expert in migraine treatment. The clinic offers a range of treatments for migraine, from drugs to biofeedback therapy. This painless, drug-free therapy is one of the newer therapies on offer for migraine and tension headache sufferers. It monitors bodily functions like heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. Research has shown that by monitoring them and feeding them back to the patient, the patient can gain voluntary control of them. So by knowing that you are tensing muscles and have high blood pressure, you can start finding ways to release the tension and lower blood pressure, for example, and the pain can be relieved.
Acupuncture is another alternative treatment said to be effective for migraine relief, although evidence has not yet been found to prove it conclusively, while in Dubai, Unicare plastic surgery clinic offers Botox as a solution, suggesting that the paralysis of the facial muscles can aid migraine sufferers, although this too has yet to be proven.
In more new migraine research, last week it was found that migraines significantly raise the risk of a stroke during pregnancy. A team from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA, analysed nearly 34,000 pregnancies from 2000 to 2003 and found that women who suffered with migraines were more likely to have a stroke during pregnancy. The risk is still incredibly low however, at four per 100,000. Research professor Cheryl Bushnell also said that many pre-pregnancy migraine sufferers find the condition improves with pregnancy, so it can have a positive effect too.
Migraine sufferers are also three times more likely to get a blood clot in a vein and twice as likely to suffer from heart disease as non-sufferers. There is some good news however: migraine sufferers are 30 per cent less likely to get breast cancer, according to research published last year by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, a result believed to be associated to the hormone oestrogen that stimulates hormonal migraines and possibly breast cancer. Further research is being conducted on the subject.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.
Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The%20specs
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
