title: The association between use of dietary supplements and headache or migraine complaints.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the prevalence of headache or migraine complaints and the use of dietary supplements, and to determine their correlation according to sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  This population-based cross-sectional study used data from a 2005 National Health Interview Survey of 15,414 participants (age 18-65 years) in Taiwan. Prevalence of headache or migraine complaints was accessed by a single question on their occurrence during the previous 3 months. Dietary supplement use was evaluated by another single question. Data were stratified by sex and analyzed using independent t-test, chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of headache or migraine complaints was 17.2% in males and 32.4% in females. The percentage of women taking supplements was 31.8%, which was much higher than the 15.5% of men. In male supplement users, use of isoflavones had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of headache or migraine complaint compared with those of male without use of isoflavones (adjusted OR = 3.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.68-8.85). In females, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and green algae supplement use had higher likelihoods of headache or migraine complaint in comparison to those of female without use of supplements (adjusted OR = 1.28, 1.21, and 1.43; 95% CI = 1.05-1.57, 1.03-1.42, and 1.07-1.90, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This population-based study confirmed sex-specific associations between headache or migraine complaints and the use of dietary supplements, warranting further investigation of the underlying causes.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Yean
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Pei-Shan
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Cheng-Chi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yu-Tse
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hui-Chuan
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Pin-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000009:adverse effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014803:Vitamin B Complex; D001205:Ascorbic Acid
keywords: headache; migraine; sex difference; use of dietary supplement