Vitamin D Deficiency And Headaches
Researchers in Finland have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of chronic headaches in men. After analyzing vitamin D levels and headache frequency in some 2,600 men age 42 through 60, researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that men who reported having headaches at least weekly had lower vitamin D levels than other males included in the study. In fact, their headache risk was more than double that of men whose vitamin D levels were highest. Men who were examined from October through May reported more headaches than those seen in the summer months when vitamin D levels tend to rise as a result of greater sun exposure, the researchers wrote. However, of the 2,600 men studied, 68 percent had levels of “D” that were bordering on deficiency. The investigators noted that an association between headaches and low levels of vitamin D has been shown in other – considerably smaller – studies. The new research reveals a link between low vitamin D and chronic headaches but does not prove cause and effect.
Source:
Jyrki K. Virtanen at al, “Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with higher risk of frequent headache in middle-aged and older men.” Scientific Reports, January 3, 2017,
doi: 10.1038/srep39697
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