The comparison of the main dietary and non‐dietary trigger factors in women with chronic and episodic migraine

Abstract

Aims: Migraine is one of the most common neurological diseases and the second cause of disability worldwide. Various trigger factors have been reported in different populations. The current study was designed to extract the main trigger factors using factor analysis, and compare the chronic and episodic patient scores for every extracted pattern. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 300 migrainous women (25-55 years old) participated. A constructed 46-item Likert questionnaire was developed to assess the primary triggers. The validity of the designed questionnaire was assessed by Content Validity Ratio and Content Validity Index coefficients. The test-retest method was employed to assess reliability. The exploratory factor analysis was performed to extract patterns of correlation among 46 triggers.Each participant was given a score for every extracted pattern. The mean scores of chronic and episodic patients were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Results: The mean body mass index of participants was 28.17 ± 5.44 kg/m 2 .Most participants (90.7%) had migraine without aura. Four factors were extracted using factor analysis that explained 22.37% of the total variance: (1) environmental and behavioural factors; (2) condiments; (3) nitrite, tyramine and caffeine; and (4) fats. None of these factors explained the difference between chronic and episodic migrainous women. Conclusions:The current study suggests that environmental and behavioural factors, relative to dietary triggers, play an essential role in causing migraine in women and more than dietary triggers. The most important triggers did not differ between episodic and chronic migrainous women.

Triptan treatment is associated with a higher number of red wine‐induced migraine episodes: An exploratory questionnaire‐based survey

“…The frequency of migraine attacks might have influenced our results, as more triptan users reported a frequency of 3–5 migraine attacks per week than non‐triptan users (31% vs. 19%, p = 0.064). Nonetheless, patients with chronic migraine are not more likely to report a migraine trigger than patients with episodic migraine 37,38 . Infusions of calcitonin gene‐related peptide, a recognized trigger of migraine, induced similar proportions of migraine‐like attacks in patients with episodic and chronic migraine (67% vs. 65%, respectively) 39 .…”

“…Nonetheless, patients with chronic migraine are not more likely to report a migraine trigger than patients with episodic migraine. 37,38 Infusions of calcitonin gene-related peptide, a recognized trigger of migraine, induced similar proportions of migraine-like attacks in patients with episodic and chronic migraine (67% vs. 65%, respectively). 39 In the future, powered studies controlling for confounding factors may validate our observations.…”

Nutrition and Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide (CGRP) in Migraine

“…However, some individuals report decreases in the frequency of headache attacks and/or their intensity after modifications to such a comprehensive diet [ 12 ]. In clinical practice in migraine, diet modification has the form of an elimination diet, which includes a long list of dietary substances considered as potential migraine triggers, such as chocolate, eggs, dairy products, alcoholic and sweetened beverages, citrus fruits and others [ 18 , 19 ]. These foods do not have too much in common, so the question about the involvement of appetite pathways in migraine induction is justified [ 20 ].…”