Cincinnati, OH—New research from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center suggests young individuals with migraines may also suffer from vitamin deficiency.

The study, which involved database information from children, teens and young adults who were migraine patients at the Cincinnati Children's Headache Center, analyzed baseline bloodwork for riboflavin, vitamin D, folate and coenzyme Q10 levels due to previous studies that suggested their link with migraines. If levels were low, patients were given preventive migraine medications and the proper supplements.

Suzanne Hagler, M.D., a headache medicine fellow in the division of neurology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and lead author of the study, along with colleagues at the center noted due to few patients receiving vitamins alone, it was impossible to determine if vitamin supplementation could prevent migraines.

Researchers did find that girls and young women were more likely to be deficient in coenzyme Q10 than boys and young men.

Boys and young men were more deficient in vitamin D than girls and young women.

Patients who suffered from chronic migraines were found to have more coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin deficiencies than patients with episodic migraines.

"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," said Hagler.

These findings were presented at the 58thAnnual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society inSan Diego.

Posted on WholeFoods Magazine Online, 6/22/2016