(P27-033-23) Dietary Differences Observed Between Days With and Without Headache in Individuals With Episodic Migraine

Objectives: Migraine disease is a disabling and prominent condition, affecting 1 in 7 Americans. Though symptoms vary, migraine typically presents as periodic attacks of severe unilateral throbbing head pain, with nausea or light sensitivity. Acute and preventive strategies are available, but a treatment gap remains in efficacy of existing treatments and proportion of patients reached. Dietary interventions have potential to narrow this gap. To support future dietary intervention studies for migraine, this pilot study aimed to observe macronutrient intake in relation to days with and without headache.

Methods: Adults with affirmative migraine diagnostic criteria and experiencing migraine 4-14 days/month were enrolled. Participants completed 8 x 24-hour dietary intake recalls (2/week randomly for 4 weeks) via phone by a trained interviewer, using the Nutrition Data System for Research software with the multiple pass method. Participants concurrently completed a daily headache diary that included the date and time of each headache onset and end. Descriptive statistics were calculated for macronutrient intake on days (12:00am – 11:59pm) with and without reported headache.

Results: In 12 adults with migraine (11 female, 1 male), 95 dietary interviews were conducted, which corresponded to 35 headache days and 60 days without headache. Average energy intake was lower on days with headache (1697 ± 663 kcal) than days without headache (1889 ± 708 kcal). Average intake of total carbohydrates, fats, and proteins were all lower on headache days. Percent of calories from protein was lower on days with headache (15.6% ± 5.4 vs. 17.1% ± 5.4) while percent of calories from carbohydrates and fats were higher on days with headache (46.7% ± 9.3 vs. 45.8% ± 7.6, and 36.6% ± 7.2 vs. 35.9% ± 6.6).

Conclusions: Using individuals as their own controls provides a powerful design to evaluate differences in dietary intake across days with and without headache; differences in overall intake and composition of macronutrients were observed in individuals with moderate-to-high frequency episodic migraine. Results from this pilot study support further research into mechanisms by which dietary intake differs on headache days and implications for potential dietary intervention.

Funding Sources: George Mason Undergraduate Research Scholars Program
George Mason College of Public Health Pilot Funding