Healthy eating index 2015 might be associated with migraine headaches: Results from a Case-Control study.

Migraine headaches are the most prevalent disabling primary headaches, affecting individuals at an active age. Dietary interventions are considered low-cost and practical approaches to migraine prophylaxis. Hence, the present study aimed to assess the association between adherence to the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) and migraine headaches. The present case-control study was conducted on 476 newly diagnosed adults with migraine headaches, based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition (ICHDIII criteria(, and 512 healthy controls. Participants' dietary intakes were collected using a validated, 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The association between HEI-2015 and migraine headaches was assessed using logistic regression models. Although the trend was not statistically significant, being in the 4th quantile of the HEI-2015 was associated with about 50% lower odds of migraine headaches in both primary (adjusted for age and gender) (odds ratios (OR): 0.51, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.33, 0.78) and fully adjusted models (additionally adjusted for body mass index (BMI) and total calories) (adjusted OR: 0.50, 95%CI: 0.32, 0.77). Intriguingly, the odds of migraine headaches were significantly higher in those in the last quantile of "Total Fruits," which is equal to more than 237 g per 1000 kcal (aOR: 2.96, 95%CI: 1.99, 4.41) and "Whole Fruits," which is equal to more than 233 g per 1000 kcal (aOR: 2.90, 95%CI: 1.94, 4.31). Similarly, higher intakes of "Dairy," which is equal to more than 138 g per 1000 kcal (aOR: 2.66, 95%CI: 1.71, 4.14), and "Total Protein Foods," which is equal to more than 259 g per 1000 kcal (aOR: 2.41, 95%CI: 1.58, 3.70), were associated with higher odds of migraine headaches. The current study revealed an indirect association between HEI-2015 and its components, including "Greens and Beans," "Whole Grains," "Refined Grains," and "Added Sugars" and lower odds of migraine headaches.

The Association Between Dietary Acid Load and Odds of Migraine: A Case-Control Survey.

INTRODUCTION: It has been shown that a high acid load in the human body can affect inflammatory factors and the nitric oxide pathway. These factors are also thought to play an important role in the initiation of migraine attacks. We have therefore explored the association between dietary acid load and odds of migraine in a case-control study. METHODS: The migraine group (n = 514, diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition [ICHDIII] criteria) was recruited from a tertiary headache clinic. The controls consisted of 582 sex-matched healthy volunteers who were randomly selected from the general population. A validated 168-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used for dietary intake assessments. Estimation of the dietary acid load was performed using three different measures: potential renal acid load (PRAL) score, net endogenous acid production (NEAP) score, and protein/potassium ratio. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that, in comparison with the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of dietary acid load measures, including PRAL (odds ratio [OR] 7.208, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 3.33-15.55), and NEAP (OR 4.108, 95% CI 1.924-8.774) scores and the protein/potassium ratio (OR 4.127, 95% CI 1.933-8.814), significantly increased the odds of migraine (P value for trend ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, high dietary acid load was associated with higher odds of migraine. It is therefore possible that restricting dietary acid load could reduce the odds of migraine in susceptible subjects. However, due to the preliminary nature of the current evidence, caution is advised in drawing a definitive conclusion. More well-designed studies are required for a better understanding of this important issue.