The quality and inflammatory index of the diet of patients with migraine

ABSTRACT

Background

The association between diet and migraine has been reported in the literature, but only a few studies have evaluated whether the diet consumed by patients with migraine differs from individuals without migraine.

Objective

Herein, we aimed to investigate whether the quality and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) of diet consumed by migraine patients differ from that consumed by healthy controls. We also evaluated whether the severity of migraine and headache frequency were associated with these parameters.

Methods

Patients of both sexes, aged between 18 and 65, with episodic migraine and healthy controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Disability and impact caused by migraine and depressive symptoms were evaluated. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall and a three-day non-consecutive food record. The quality of the diet was calculated using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)−2015 adapted to the Brazilian population, and DII was calculated based on the method developed by Shivappa et al. (2014).

Results

Ninety patients with migraine and 62 individuals without migraine were included in this study. The groups did not differ regarding age, sex, marital status, years of schooling, anthropometric characteristics, and depressive symptoms. Patients with migraine had lower HEI total score than controls, indicating that these patients have a lower quality of the diet. Patients with migraine also had higher DII than controls. Nevertheless, HEI and DII scores did not correlate with migraine frequency and severity.

Conclusion

This study corroborates the view that the characteristics of the diet might be involved in migraine pathophysiology.

KEYWORDS:

• Migraine
• Dietary Inflammatory Index
• Healthy Eating Index
• Diet
• Nutrition
• Headache
• Diet quality
• Food‌

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank for the students Isabel Myrian Guimarães Campos, Tamara Carneiro Medeiros de Souza and Luciana Alves de Andrade for their help during data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Brazilian government funding agencies: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). The Neuropsychiatry Program is funded by the UT Health Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. JRBT is a recipient of the Alberta Diabetes Institute Graduate Studentship Award. AHK is a recipient of Alberta Innovates and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) postdoctoral fellowships.

Notes on contributors

Laís Bhering Martins

Laís Bhering Martins has a Ph.D. in Food Science from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), and she is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT Health).

Jenneffer Rayane Braga Tibães

Jenneffer Rayane Braga Tibães is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, Division of Human Nutrition at the University of Alberta.

Ana Maria dos Santos Rodrigues

Ana Maria dos Santos Rodrigues has a Ph.D. in Food Science from UFMG, and she is currently a nutritionist at the Hospital Regional de Betim (Brazil).

Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli

Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli is a recipient of Alberta Innovates and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) postdoctoral fellowships.

Carolina Karam Vono

Carolina Karam Vono is nutritionists, graduated from UFMG.

Júlia Borges e Borges

Júlia Borges e Borges is nutritionists, graduated from UFMG.

Paula Martins Horta

Paula Martins Horta is professors and researchers at UFMG.

Antonio Lucio Teixeira

Antonio Lucio Teixeira is a professor actively involved in both clinical and research components at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health.

Adaliene Versiani Matos Ferreira

Adaliene Versiani Matos Ferreira is a professors and researchers at UFMG.