Young people with migraines ‘often have vitamin deficiencies’

A new study has suggested a link between vitamin deficiencies and a higher risk of migraines among young people.

The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center research indicated that a high percentage of children, teens and young adults with migraines appear to have mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10.

Girls and young women were more likely than their male counterparts to lack coenzyme Q10, a vitamin-like substance in human cells that is used to produce energy for cell growth and maintenance.

Boys and young men, meanwhile, were more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency, and individuals with chronic migraines were shown to be more likely to have coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin deficiencies than those with episodic migraines.

Prior studies have shown that certain vitamins and vitamin deficiencies may play a role in the migraine process, but past research using vitamins to prevent them have delivered conflicting results.

Study lead author Dr Suzanne Hagler, of the division of neurology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said: "Further studies are needed to elucidate whether vitamin supplementation is effective in migraine patients in general, and whether patients with mild deficiency are more likely to benefit from supplementation."