COMMENTARY

Low Vitamin D Levels Increases the Risk for Chronic Headaches

Alan R. Jacobs, MD

August 03, 2017

This is the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr Alan Jacobs.

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland have published a study investigating the relationship between vitamin D status and the risk for frequent headache.^[1]

They assessed 2601 men, aged 42-60 years in 1984-1989, from a population-based cohort derived from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study.

They made cross-sectional associations of self-reported frequent headache, defined as weekly or daily headaches and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

In those with frequent headache, the average serum vitamin D concentration was 38.3 nmol/L; while in those without frequent headache, the average vitamin D concentration was 43.9 nmol/L.

Those in the lowest serum vitamin D quartile had 113% higher odds for frequent headache compared with those in the highest quartile.

The authors concluded that low serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with a markedly higher risk for frequent headaches in men.

This has been the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr Alan Jacobs.

References

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Low Vitamin D Levels Increases the Risk for Chronic Headaches - Medscape - Aug 03, 2017.

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