New research suggests that people who were exposed to childhood adversity have higher odds of experiencing migraines in adulthood.

Researchers at the University of Toronto found that adults who witnessed parental domestic violence, childhood physical and sexual abuse when they were younger are 52 to 64 percent more likely to have migraine headaches, compared to those who weren't exposed to childhood adversity.

"We found the more types of violence the individual had been exposed to during their childhood, the greater the odds of migraine. For those who reported all three types of adversities -- parental domestic violence, childhood physical and sexual abuse -- the odds of migraine were a little over three times higher for men and just under three times higher for women" Sarah Brennenstuhl, first author of the study, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from nearly 23,000 men and women from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.

"The most surprising finding was the link between exposure to parental domestic violence and migraines. Even after accounting for variables including age, race, socioeconomic status, history of depression and anxiety, and childhood physical and sexual abuse ....," Esme Fuller-Thomson, co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Fuller-Thomson said the findings underline the importance of future prospective studies investigating the long-term physical health of children exposed to parental domestic violence.

The findings are detailed in the journal Headache.