Chronic Tension-Type Headache With Vitamin D Deficiency: Casual or Causal Association?

Brief Communications
Chronic Tension-Type Headache With Vitamin D Deficiency: Casual or Causal Association?
Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain
Volume 49 Issue 8, Pages 1214 - 1222
Published Online: 8 Jul 2009
Sanjay Prakash, DM; Nilima D. Shah, MD
From the Department of Neurology, Medical College, Baroda, Gujarat, India (S. Prakash); Department of Psychiatry, Medical College, Baroda, Gujarat, India (N.D. Shah).
Correspondence to S. Prakash, O-19, Doctor's Quarter, Jail Road, Baroda, Gujarat, 390001 India.
Funding source: No grant or support was required.

Conflict of Interest: None

Copyright Copyright © 2009 American Headache Society
KEYWORDS
vitamin D • tension-type headache • pain • musculoskeletal symptoms
(Headache 2009;49:1214-1222)

ABSTRACT
The prevalence of tension-type headache and vitamin D deficiency are both very high in the general population. The inter-relations between the two have not been explored in the literature. We report 8 patients with chronic tension-type headache and vitamin D deficiency (osteomalacia). All the patients responded poorly to conventional therapy for tension headache. The headache and osteomalacia of each of the 8 patients responded to vitamin D and calcium supplementation. The improvement in the headache was much earlier than the improvements in the symptom complex of osteomalacia. We also speculate on the possible mechanisms for headache in the patients with vitamin D deficiency.


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Accepted for publication May 18, 2009.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)
10.1111/j.1526-4610.2009.01483.x About DOI