ABSTRACT
Background
Migraine is a debilitating neurological discomfort characterized by moderate to severe unilateral headaches. Adherence to healthy dietary patterns like the DASH diet has been considered a complementary solution to migraine management.
Objective
In this study, we assessed the relation of adherence to the DASH diet with migraine attack frequency and pain intensity in women with migraine.
Methods
285 female women with migraine were recruited in the current study. Migraine was diagnosed by a single neurologist based on the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-III). Migraine attack frequency was determined based on the number of attacks per month. Pain intensity was assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and migraine index. Last year dietary intakes of women were collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).
Results
Almost 91% of the women had migraine without aura. Most of the participants reported more than 15 attacks per month (40.7%) and pain intensity in the range of 8–10 in every attack (55.4%). Based on the ordinal regression, those in the first tertile of the DASH score had significantly higher odds for attack frequency (OR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.11–3.18; P = .02) and migraine index score (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.02–2.79; P = .04, respectively) than those in the third tertile.
Conclusion
This study showed that a higher DASH score is associated with a lower migraine attack frequency and migraine index score in female sufferers.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge for the support of the women who volunteered to participate in this study. Moreover, we would like to thank Dr Elham Maraghi for her efficient statistical consultations.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Samaneh Hajjarzadeh
Samaneh Hajjarzadeh: PhD student of Nutrition Sciences.
Farnush Bakhshimoghaddam
Farnush Bakshimoghaddam: PhD student of Nutrition Sciences.
Maryam Behrouz
Maryam Behrouz: PhD of Nutrition Sciences.
Zeinab Nikniaz
Zeinab Nikniz: Associate professor, PhD of Nutrition Sciences.
Reza Mahdavi
Reza Mahdavi: Professor, PhD of Nutrition Sciences.
Davood Shalilahmadi
Davood Shalilahmadi: Assistant Professor, MD, PhD of Neurology.
Majid Karandish
Majid Karandish: Professor, PhD of Nutrition Sciences.