More research on vitamin D and migraine

November 6, 2023

There is growing evidence that vitamin D is important in the development and treatment of migraines. In the past 15 years, I have written a dozen posts on the role of vitamin D in migraines.

At the last meeting of the International Headache Society, Maria Papasavva and her Greek colleagues presented a study entitled, Genetic variability in vitamin D receptor and migraine susceptibility: a case-control study.

Their study aimed to investigate an association of three genetic variants of vitamin D receptor with the susceptibility to develop migraine. DNA sample was collected and extracted from 191 patients diagnosed with migraine and 265 headache-free subjects. According to their statistical analysis, a significant association between migraine susceptibility and abnormal variants of vitamin D receptors was found.  They also showed a significant association of two variants with migraine without aura. Their conclusion was that there is a clear association between migraine susceptibility and two vitamin D receptor variants. This further supports the role of vitamin D and its receptor in migraine.

Vitamin D is important not only for migraines but also for your immune system. Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of COVID and other viral infections. Lower levels of vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of attacks of multiple sclerosis even if the level is still within normal range. There are many other reasons to maintain your blood vitamin D level at least in the middle of the normal range. The normal range is 30 to 100, so keep it well above 40. If your doctor tells you that your level is normal, ask for the actual number.

Written by
Alexander Mauskop, MD
Continue reading
September 17, 2026
Music and Pain
Music can relieve pain, but what kind of music? A new study from McGill University, published in Pain, found that music with greater emotional depth reduced pain, while intense, forceful music increased it. The effect seemed to depend on how much listeners enjoyed the music. The practical advice: choose music you love, rather than music labeled relaxing or therapeutic.
Read article
Insights from Dr. Alexander Mauskop on headaches and migraines
Subscribe to the Blog.
Subscribe
Subscribe