Migraine Linked to Vitamin Deficiency
Migraine is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It can have different causes, including hormonal change for women, stress, food additives, medications and more. Now, a new study suggests that vitamin deficiency may also have something to do with migraines.
The research found that mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10—a vitamin-like substance found in every cell of the body that is used to produce energy for cell growth and maintenance - is linked to migraines which affect many children, teens and young adults.
The study, headed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, involved patients with migraines who had baseline blood levels checked for vitamin D, riboflavin, coenzyme Q10 and folate, all of which were implicated in migraines, to some degree, by previous and sometimes conflicting studies. Many were put on preventive migraine medications and received vitamin supplementation, if levels were low. Because few received vitamins alone, the researchers were unable to determine vitamin effectiveness in preventing migraines.
Researchers found that girls and young women were more likely than boys and young men to have coenzyme Q10 deficiencies at baseline. Boys and young men were more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. It was unclear whether there were folate deficiencies. Patients with chronic migraines were more likely to have coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin deficiencies than those with episodic migraines.
Nonetheless, further studies are still needed to determine whether vitamin supplementation may help people manage this condition, according to Suzanne Hagler, MD, the lead author of the study and a Headache Medicine fellow in the division of Neurology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre.
Their findings were published in the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in San Diego.
Source of this article:
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre