Associations between diet quality and migraine headaches: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Aims

We evaluated associations between diet quality and migraine outcomes.

Methods

The current work represented a cross-sectional study on 262 patients with migraine (20–50 y). Diet quality was assessed using the standard healthy eating index 2015 (HEI-2015) and alternative healthy eating index 2010 (AHEI-2010). A validated 168-item food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Migraine outcomes included clinical factors (severity, duration, frequency, and disability related to migraine) and serum nitric oxide (NO). Associations between diet quality indices and migraine outcomes were evaluated using linear regressions, and β and 95% corresponding confidence interval (CI) were reported.

Results

HEI-2015 was inversely associated with migraine frequency (β = −4.75, 95% CI: −6.73, −2.76) in patients with the highest HEI scores (third tertile) vs. those with the lowest scores (first tertile) after adjusting for relevant confounders. AHEI-2010 was inversely associated with migraine frequency (β = −3.67, 95% CI: −5.65, −1.69) and migraine-related disability (β = −2.74, 95% CI: −4.79, −0.68) in adjusted models. Also, AHEI-2010 was inversely associated with migraine severity in patients in the second vs. first tertile (β = −0.56; 95% CI: −1.08, −0.05). We detected no associations between diet quality and NO levels (All P > 0.14).

Conclusions

Improved diet quality may be associated with favorable migraine outcomes (lower headache frequency, severity, and migraine-related disability). Future studies are required to confirm and delineate the causal mechanisms of our observations.

KEYWORDS:

• Migraine
• headache
• nutrition
• diet quality
• cross-sectional
• healthy eating index
• eating pattern
• Iran

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants for their cooperation in the present study.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. MK was supported by fellowship awards from the National Institutes of Health (Grants No. T32-ES 706943).

Notes on contributors

Arghavan Balali

Arghavan Balali is a M.Sc. student of nutrition sciences at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Elham Karimi

Elham Karimi, M.Sc., is a Ph.D. student of nutrition sciences at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Maryam Kazemi

Maryam Kazemi, RD, M.Sc., Ph.D., CPT, is a Women's Health Researcher at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health specializing in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Dr. Kazemi has research and clinical experience in Nutrition, Metabolism, Reproductive Endocrinology, and Human Genomics. Her research is focused on discovering the role of environmental and biological factors in female metabolic, reproductive, and musculoskeletal disruptions.

Amir Hadi

Amir Hadi, M.Sc., is a researcher at Halal Research Center of IRI specializing in metabolic diseases. His research is focused on discovering the role of functional foods in metabolic disruptions.

Gholamreza Askari

Gholamreza Askari, MD, Ph.D., is a professor of nutrition sciences at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Fariborz Khorvash

Fariborz Khorvash, MD, is a professor of neurology at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Arman Arab

Arman Arab, M.Sc., Ph.D., is a researcher at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. He is passionate about advancing the knowledge and practice of nutrition science in the context of neuroscience.