Fruit and vegetable consumption in relation to primary headaches: the MEPHASOUS study.

Background: Fruit and vegetable consumption may beneficially affect the odds of primary headaches due to their antioxidant contents. However, no study has examined the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and primary headaches among university students.

Aim: To assess the relation between fruit and vegetable intakes and primary headaches among Iranian university students.

Methods: Overall, 83,214 university students with an age range of ≥ 18 years participated in the present study. Dietary intakes and also data on confounding variables were collected using validated questionnaires. Data on dietary intakes were collected using a validated dietary habits questionnaire. We used the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 (ICHD-3) criteria to define primary headaches.

Results: Fruit consumption was negatively associated with primary headaches; such that after controlling for potential confounders, greater intake of fruits was associated with 30% lower odds of primary headaches (OR: 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.84). Such an inverse association was also found for vegetable consumption. In the fully adjusted model, students in the top category of vegetable consumption were 16% less likely to have primary headaches compared with those in the bottom category (OR: 0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.95). Subgroup analysis revealed that fruit consumption was inversely associated with primary headaches in females, unlike males, and vegetable consumption was inversely associated with these headaches in males, as opposed to females. Moreover, fruit and vegetable consumption was related to lower odds of primary headaches in normal-weight students.

Conclusion: Fruit and vegetable intakes were associated with reduced odds of primary headaches.

Level Of Evidence: Level III, cross-sectional analytic studies.