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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1507503
This article is part of the Research Topic Impact of Oxidation on Nutrition: Source, Absorption and Health Effects View all articles

Association between serum carotenoids levels and severe headache or migraine in adults: a cross-sectional study from NHANES

Provisionally accepted
Tian Hu Tian Hu Yufei Chen Yufei Chen *Siyu Chen Siyu Chen *Rui Xue Rui Xue *
  • Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Carotenoids are well-established for their potent antioxidant properties; however, their potential association with severe headaches or migraines remains largely unexamined. This study was conducted to explore the relationship between serum carotenoid levels and the prevalence of severe headaches or migraines within the US population.: We utilized data from the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which comprised a total of 8,910 participants. Serum carotenoid levels-specifically α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, and lycopene-were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Migraine status was determined based on a questionnaire. The research methodologies employed included multivariate logistic regression, subgroup analysis, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models. Results: The prevalence of migraines in the study population was 22.37%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that serum concentrations of α-carotene (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.97), β-carotene (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.94), β-cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.90), lutein/zeaxanthin (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.67-0.85),and total carotenoids (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70-0.90) were significantly inversely correlated with severe headaches or migraines; however, no significant association was found for lycopene levels. RCS analysis showed that β-cryptoxanthin had an L-shaped non-linear relationship with migraine prevalence at a threshold of approximately 9.392 μg/dL, while subgroup analyses confirmed the consistent inverse association between total serum carotenoid concentrations and migraine prevalence across various groups.Serum concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, and total serum carotenoids were inversely correlated with the incidence of severe headaches or migraines in US adults. This evidence indicates that carotenoids may provide a protective effect against migraines; however, further investigation is warranted to substantiate these associations and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

    Keywords: Migraine, carotenoid, NHANES, Cross-sectional study, α-Carotene

    Received: 07 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hu, Chen, Chen and Xue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yufei Chen, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
    Siyu Chen, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
    Rui Xue, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.