Headaches (chronic tension) 3X more likely to have low vitamin D – also muscle weakness and bone tenderness

Created May 2017

Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients With Chronic Tension-Type Headache: A Case-Control Study

Headache: Journal of Head and Face Pain, First published: 3 May 2017, DOI: 10.1111/head.13096

* Fewer headaches and other benefits of higher vitamin D – Jan 2017 * Hypothesis– Chronic headache and musculoskeletal pain both result from low vitamin D – Oct 2013 * Cluster headaches virtually eliminated in 7,000 people with high-dose vitamin D and cofactors - Feb 2022 * * Headache category listing has items along with related searches and the following** Migraine Headaches associated with metal excess/deficiencies - July 2015 Compared blood levels of 25 people with migraines to 25 people without GreenMedInfo | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Metal | Migraine | No Migraine | Ratio | | Cadmium | 0.36 ug | 0.09 ug | 4X MORE if decrease | | Iron | 0.97 ug | 0.48 ug | 2X MORE if decrease | | Lead | 1.48 ug | 0.78 ug | 2X MORE if decrease | | Magnesium | 10.6 ug | 34.5 ug | 3.5X LESS if increase | | Zinc | 0.24 ug | 5.77 ug | 24X LESS if increase | 1. Reviewed at Vitamin D Council Chronic tension headache may be a symptom of vitamin D deficiency May 2017

Publisher rents the PDF for $6

Sanjay Prakash DM (Neurology), drprakashs@yahoo.co.in, Chaturbhuj Rathore DM (Neurology),

Prayag Makwana DM (Neurology), Ankit Dave DM (Neurology),

Hemant Joshi DM (Neurology),Haresh Parekh DM (Neurology)

Objective: To see the interrelation between chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) and serum vitamin D levels.

Background: Several studies have suggested an association between chronic pain and vitamin D deficiency. Anecdotal evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with tension-type headache and migraine.

Methods: This case-control study was carried out to examine the association between CTTH and serum 25-hydroxy vitamin (25(OH) D) levels. One hundred consecutive adult (>18 years) patients with CTTH and 100 matched healthy controls were enrolled.

Results: The serum 25(OH) D levels were significantly lower in CTTH patients than in the controls ( 14.7 vs 27.4 ng/mL ).

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (serum 25 (OH) D < 20 ng/mL) was greater in patients with CTTH (71% vs 25%). [ 2.8 X ]

CTTH patients had a significantly high prevalence of

  • musculoskeletal pain (79% vs 57%),

  • muscle weakness (29% vs 10%), [ 2.9 X ]

  • muscle tenderness score (7.5 vs 1.9), and [ 3.9 X ]

  • bone tenderness score (3.0 vs 0.8) in comparison to controls. [ 3.8 X ]

CTTH patients with vitamin D deficient group (<20 ng/mL) had a higher prevalence of

  • musculoskeletal pain (58% vs 31%),

  • muscle weakness (38% vs 7%), [ 5.4 X ]

  • muscle and bone tenderness score,

  • associated fatigue (44% vs 17%) and

  • more prolonged course (15.5 months vs 11.2 months).

A strong positive correlation was noted between serum vitamin D levels and total muscle tenderness score (R2 = 0. 7365) and total bone tenderness score (R2 = 0. 6293).

Conclusion: Decreased serum 25(OHD) concentration was associated with CTTH. Intervention studies are required to find out if supplementation of vitamin D is effective in patients with CTTH.

Review of Study in Neurology Today - Sept 2017

“Ultimately we're going to need a large-scale vitamin D intervention study to look for outcomes.”

Tags: Headache