Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.com
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Migraine; Air Quality Index; Barometric Pressure; Emergency Department; PM2.5; Ozone; Environmental Triggers; Neuroinflammation
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: Migraine is a leading cause of Emergency Department (ED) visits and global disability. Weather has long been reported by patients as a trigger, yet the literature remains inconsistent. Prior ED-based data demonstrated an association between higher mean barometric pressure and increased migraine presentations, without a relationship to short-term pressure change. Because high-pressure systems are frequently associated with atmospheric stagnation and pollutant accumulation, air quality may represent a biologically plausible mediator.
Objective: To examine the relationship between air quality and ED migraine presentations within the existing body of literature and to explore whether air quality may help explain previously observed associations between atmospheric pressure and migraine.
Summary: Existing studies demonstrate associations between migraine and both barometric pressure and air pollution, though findings conflict. Mechanistic data support pollutant-induced neuroinflammation and trigeminal sensitization. Integrating these findings suggests that air quality may function as an ‘invisible weather’ variable influencing migraine expression.
Conclusion: Clarifying the role of air quality in migraine may enhance patient counseling, environmental awareness, and interdisciplinary dialogue between emergency medicine, neurology, and public health.
Disciplines
Environmental Health and Protection | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nervous System Diseases
Air Quality, Atmospheric Pressure, and Migraine Presentations in the Emergency Department
Background: Migraine is a leading cause of Emergency Department (ED) visits and global disability. Weather has long been reported by patients as a trigger, yet the literature remains inconsistent. Prior ED-based data demonstrated an association between higher mean barometric pressure and increased migraine presentations, without a relationship to short-term pressure change. Because high-pressure systems are frequently associated with atmospheric stagnation and pollutant accumulation, air quality may represent a biologically plausible mediator.
Objective: To examine the relationship between air quality and ED migraine presentations within the existing body of literature and to explore whether air quality may help explain previously observed associations between atmospheric pressure and migraine.
Summary: Existing studies demonstrate associations between migraine and both barometric pressure and air pollution, though findings conflict. Mechanistic data support pollutant-induced neuroinflammation and trigeminal sensitization. Integrating these findings suggests that air quality may function as an ‘invisible weather’ variable influencing migraine expression.
Conclusion: Clarifying the role of air quality in migraine may enhance patient counseling, environmental awareness, and interdisciplinary dialogue between emergency medicine, neurology, and public health.