If your twin gets migraine and you do not, the difference is not evidence against genetics. It is evidence that genetics is only part of the system.
That is the central lesson from decades of migraine twin research.
Quick answer
Is migraine hereditary?
Yes, susceptibility is meaningfully heritable. Adult twin studies commonly estimate migraine heritability around 36–48%, while non-shared environmental factors remain substantial.
Key takeaways
- A 2024 review identified 52 migraine twin studies.
- Adult heritability estimates were remarkably similar across many cohorts, commonly around 0.36–0.48.
- A six-country study also found significant heritability alongside non-shared environmental influence.
- Heritability cannot identify an individual's trigger or treatment.
Consistency across countries is unusual
Different questionnaires, healthcare systems and populations can produce very different estimates. Migraine twin studies have nevertheless shown a surprisingly repeatable moderate genetic signal.
That consistency strengthens confidence in inherited susceptibility while still leaving most individual attacks unexplained.
Genes do not schedule Tuesday's migraine
Sleep, hormones, stress, sensory exposures, medication patterns and other individual factors can influence when susceptibility becomes an attack.
Twin studies estimate background variation; they do not provide a trigger diary for one person.
Where TwinPare can add value
A personal timeline of sleep, activity, recovery and symptoms can help users notice patterns worth discussing with healthcare professionals.
That is a behavioural insight use case — not migraine diagnosis or treatment.
Source notes
The sources have been verified and editorially reviewed for this article. The limitations below show which level of conclusion the sources support.
- [migraine-review-2024] Migraine heritability and beyond: A scoping review of twin studies Twin migraine review investigators. Headache, 2024. Evidence type: Scoping review of 52 migraine twin studies Limitation: Adult twin-study heritability estimates commonly ranged from 0.36 to 0.48; cohorts were predominantly of North European ancestry. PubMed
- [mulder-2003] Genetic and environmental influences on migraine: a twin study across six countries Elles J. Mulder et al.. Twin Research, 2003. Evidence type: International twin study involving 29,717 twin pairs Limitation: Migraine heritability varied across countries and definitions; non-shared environment also contributed substantially. PubMed DOI
Editorial source review
This section shows how the article's key factual claims are linked to the source.
Phrasings that require caution
- Do not diagnose migraine from heritability data.
- Do not infer personal triggers from population twin estimates.
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