The relation of adherence to the DASH diet with migraine attack frequency and pain intensity in Iranian women: a cross-sectional study.

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;  = .02) and migraine index score (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.02-2.79;  = .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.