The quality and inflammatory index of the diet of patients with migraine

Background: The association between diet and migraine has been reported in the literature, but only a few studies have evaluated whether the diet consumed by patients with migraine differs from individuals without migraine. Objective: Herein, we aimed to investigate whether the quality and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) of diet consumed by migraine patients differ from that consumed by healthy controls. We also evaluated whether the severity of migraine and headache frequency were associated with these parameters. Methods: Patients of both sexes, aged between 18 and 65, with episodic migraine and healthy controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Disability and impact caused by migraine and depressive symptoms were evaluated. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall and a three-day non-consecutive food record. The quality of the diet was calculated using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)−2015 adapted to the Brazilian population, and DII was calculated based on the method developed by Shivappa et al. (2014). Results: Ninety patients with migraine and 62 individuals without migraine were included in this study. The groups did not differ regarding age, sex, marital status, years of schooling, anthropometric characteristics, and depressive symptoms. Patients with migraine had lower HEI total score than controls, indicating that these patients have a lower quality of the diet. Patients with migraine also had higher DII than controls. Nevertheless, HEI and DII scores did not correlate with migraine frequency and severity. Conclusion: This study corroborates the view that the characteristics of the diet might be involved in migraine pathophysiology.