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Vitamin D in migraine headache: a comprehensive review on literature

Neurological Sciences volume 40, pages 2459–2477 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction

As a primary headache, migraine has been established as the first leading disability cause worldwide in the subjects who aged less than 50 years. A variety of dietary supplements have been introduced for migraine complementary treatment. As an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent, vitamin D is one of these agents which has been of interest in recent years. Although higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency has been highlighted among migraineurs compared to controls, there is not any consensus in prescribing vitamin D in clinical practice. Therefore, in the current review, in addition to observational and case-control studies, we also included clinical trials concerning the effects of vitamin D supplementation on migraine/headache.

Methods

Based on a PubMed/MEDLINE and ScienceDirect database search, this review study includes published articles up to June 2019 concerning the association between migraine/headache and vitamin D status or supplementation.

Results

The percentage of subjects with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among migraineurs and headache patients has been reported to vary between 45 and 100%. In a number of studies, vitamin D level was negatively correlated with frequency of headaches. The present findings show that supplementation with this vitamin in a dose of 1000–4000 IU/d could reduce the frequency of attacks in migraineurs.

Conclusion

It seems a high proportion of migraine patients might suffer from vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. Further, the current evidence shows that in addition to routine drug therapy, vitamin D administration might reduce the frequency of attacks in migraineurs. However, these results have yet to be confirmed.

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Funding sources

This research has been supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences & health Services grant 96-04-161-37647.

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Author notes

  1. Zeinab Ghorbani and Mansoureh Togha contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zeinab Ghorbani & Maryam Mahmoudi

  2. Headache Department, Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zeinab Ghorbani, Mansoureh Togha & Samane Haghighi

  3. Student Research Committee, Department and Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Pegah Rafiee

  4. Department of Nutrition, School of Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zeynab Sadat Ahmadi

  5. Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Reyhaneh Rasekh Magham

  6. Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Soodeh Razeghi Jahromi

  7. Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Mahmoudi

  8. Dietitians and Nutrition Experts Team (DiNET), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Mahmoudi

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  1. Zeinab Ghorbani
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Correspondence to Maryam Mahmoudi.

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Ghorbani, Z., Togha, M., Rafiee, P. et al. Vitamin D in migraine headache: a comprehensive review on literature. Neurol Sci 40, 2459–2477 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-019-04021-z

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Keywords

  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D
  • Cholecalciferol
  • Headache
  • Immune function
  • Inflammation
  • Nociception
  • Pain