Clinical characteristics of patients with migraine depending on vitamin D level

Background. Migraine, which is the second most common primary headache, has a negative impact on the quality of life of young people, limiting their ability to work and social activity. At the same time, in recent years, there has been a growing interest in vitamin D as a drug with pleiotropic properties whose deficiency is often observed among people with migraine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of headache in patients with various forms of migraine depending on vitamin D level. Materials and methods. The study included 112 participants with chronic and episodic migraine (97 women and 15 men) aged between 20 and 50 years (mean age of 33.6 ± 5.3 years). They were divided into two groups based on vitamin D levels. Group A consisted of patients with diffe-rent types of migraine and low vitamin D levels (below 30.0 ng/ml). Group B included patients with migraine and normal vitamin D le-vels (30.0–50.0 ng/ml). Results. Participants with low vitamin D levels appeared to be younger (p = 0.05) than those with normal content. Group A had a significantly higher frequency of chronic migraine compared to group B (54.2 vs. 17.2 %, p = 0.04). Migraine with aura was more prevalent in group A (p = 0.06). Additionally, group A showed a higher frequency of chronic migraine (p = 0.005), sugges-ting that low vitamin D levels might be a risk factor for the development and complications of migraine. The Visual Analog Scale indicated more severe headache symptoms in group A (7.8 ± 2.4 points) compared to group B patients (6.3 ± 2.2 points) (p = 0.009). Moreover, group A patients had a higher frequency of migraine attacks over the last three months (p = 0.027) and a higher score on the Migraine Disability Assessment scale (p = 0.08), as well as more pronounced depressive disorders that in group B (p = 0.033). A positive correlation was found between vitamin D levels and patients’ age (r = 0.65, p = 0.003). There was a negative correlation between vitamin D levels and the presence of chronic migraine (r = –0.87, p = 0.03), and between vitamin D and depression level according to the Back Depression Inventory (r = –0.54, p = 0.007). Conclusions. The results obtained indicate a significant impact of vitamin D levels on the clinical course and characteristics of migraine in our patients. Younger age, chronic migraine, and depression levels are key factors associated with vitamin D deficiency. These findings may serve as a basis for perso-nalized approaches to the treatment and prevention of migraine depen-ding on vitamin D levels and individual characteristics of patients.