Association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine: a Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

ObjectiveThe important contribution of dietary triggers to migraine pathogenesis has been recognized. However, the potential causal roles of many dietary habits on the risk of migraine in the whole population are still under debate. The objective of this study was to determine the potential causal association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine (and its subtypes) development, as well as the possible mediator roles of migraine risk factors.MethodsBased on summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies, we conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) and bidirectional MR to investigate the potential causal associations between 83 dietary habits and migraine and its subtypes, and network MR was performed to explore the possible mediator roles of 8 migraine risk factors.ResultsAfter correcting for multiple testing, we found evidence for associations of genetically predicted coffee, cheese, oily fish, alcohol (red wine), raw vegetables, muesli, and wholemeal/wholegrain bread intake with decreased risk of migraine, those odds ratios ranged from 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63–0.95) for overall cheese intake to 0.61 (95% CI: 0.47–0.80) for drinks usually with meals among current drinkers (yes + it varies vs. no); while white bread, cornflakes/frosties, and poultry intake were positively associated with the risk of migraine. Additionally, genetic liability to white bread, wholemeal/wholegrain bread, muesli, alcohol (red wine), cheese, and oily fish intake were associated with a higher risk of insomnia and (or) major depression disorder (MDD), each of them may act as a mediator in the pathway from several dietary habits to migraine. Finally, we found evidence of a negative association between genetically predicted migraine and drinking types, and positive association between migraine and cups of tea per day.SignificanceOur study provides evidence about association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine and demonstrates that some associations are partly mediated through one or both insomnia and MDD. These results provide new insights for further nutritional interventions for migraine prevention.

Causal Associations of Modifiable Risk Factors With Migraine: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Analysis

“…The present study corroborates the conclusions of prior studies indicating a reverse correlation among physical activity, coffee consumption, cheese intake, BMI, and migraine [ 11 , 35 , 36 ]. However, this is the first study that employed MR to establish a causal relationship between these factors and migraine.…”

“…Our results revealed that increased (genetically estimated) coffee consumption cheese intake, physical activity, and lower BMI were correlated with reduced risk of migraine in both the UKB and FinnGen cohorts, which is consistent with prior studies that have shown an inverse correlation between such factors and migraine [ 11 , 30 - 32 ]. The mechanisms causing these correlations are not fully understood; they may influence the risk of migraine by affecting brain function, inflammation, or other biological pathways.…”

“…In the UKB group, maternal smoking was linked to an elevated risk for migraine [ 10 ]. In terms of dietary factors, an inverse association between genetic variants associated with cheese consumption and migraine risk was found by Liu et al in a recent MR study [ 11 ]. The mechanism by which cheese may prevent migraines is not entirely understood, however, it has been hypothesized that several cheese ingredients, such as calcium and vitamin D, may aid in the prevention of migraines [ 12 ].…”

Genetic correlation and Mendelian randomization analyses support causal relationships between dietary habits and age at menarche

“…A recent GWAS study of dietary habits based on the UK Biobank identified genetic associations between hundreds of dietary habits, providing the potential to study the causal relationship between dietary habits and disease risk 17 . Dietary habits have been widely used to assess causal relationships with diseases or traits, such as migraines 18 , osteoporosis 19 , and cerebral cortex structure 20 .…”

Eating attitudes of migraine patients in Turkey: a prospective multi-center study

“…Alcohol and coffee are triggering agents that are shown to have varying affects in different cultures on migraine attacks with both offending and protective aspects shown in studies [ 5 , 6 ]. Another Mendelian study revealed coffee, cheese, alcohol and white bread unrelated to migraine; whereas corn bread, cookies and poultry were found to be related to disease course [ 7 ]. Eating habits and consumed food are important in migraine in that they are modifiable pathogenetic factors.…”