LOS ANGELES – Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 37% of 497 children and adolescents presenting to a tertiary care center for recurrent headache that required preventive treatment. Vitamin D insufficiency was found in 87%.
These results of routinely measuring baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels at new patient visits or at follow-up visits suggest that pediatric patients with recurrent headaches may be at increased risk for vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency compared with the general healthy population, Dr. Hope L. O'Brien and her associates reported in a poster presentation at the meeting.
Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a serum 25(OH)D level of less than 20 ng/mL. Vitamin D insufficiency was defined as a level below 30 ng/mL.
Serum 25(OH)D levels averaged 24 ng/mL in patients presenting with episodic migraine and 23 ng/mL in patients presenting with chronic migraine, reported Dr. O'Brien of the University of Cincinnati.
Studies have suggested a link between low vitamin D levels and migraine or chronic tension-type headache in adults, but this may be the first study to assess this association in children and adolescents. Patients in the current study had a mean age of 14 years (range 4–25).
The implications of these findings are unclear, but it's possible that vitamin D supplementation might help improve headaches and overall health, Dr. O'Brien said. Studies in adults have linked low vitamin D levels with medical problems such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, chronic pain, and osteoporosis, with some evidence suggesting poorer outcomes in patients with these problems and low vitamin D levels.
More studies are needed to confirm a relationship between vitamin D levels and headache frequency in children and adolescents and to explore whether vitamin supplementation may improve headache, she said.
Dr. O'Brien did not list any disclosures in her poster and did not respond to attempts to contact her.