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Higher vitamin D level may mean fewer migraines
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Patients in Iran with serum vitamin D levels of between 50 ng/mL and 99.9 ng/mL were less likely to develop migraine, according to findings recently published in Headache.
“Although the pathogenesis of migraine headache is not fully understood, the possible role of inflammation and disturbed immune system has been proposed; thus, higher levels of vitamin D might reduce the risk of migraine,” Mansoureh Togha MD, of the headache department at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran and colleagues wrote.
“However, the results of related studies have been inconclusive,” they added.
Researchers obtained vitamin D levels from 36 patients with episodic migraine, 34 patients with chronic migraine and 70 controls. All patients kept a headache diary for 30 days.
Togha and colleagues found that each 5 ng/mL increase in vitamin D levels resulted in a 19% decrease in the odds of developing migraine (OR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.72-0.9). In a fully adjusted model, there was a 22% decrease in the odds of developing migraine (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.68-0.9).
However, researchers wrote that it is premature for patients to begin increasing their vitamin D intake with the intent of reducing migraine.
“The precise mechanism of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of this disabling disorder remains to be elucidated. In addition, we did not assess the exact dosages of prophylactic and abortive drugs used by each subject which might affect vitamin D status of studied patients,” Togha and colleagues wrote.
“There is a need for well-designed clinical trials to investigate beneficial effects of increased serum 25 [hydroxyvitamin D] on lower risk of migraine,” they added. – by Janel Miller
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.