Migraine headache is one of the most common headaches that involve approximately 15% of the population around the world. The etiology of this disorder is not well determined yet (6). It is shown that allergic reactions can participate in headaches through activating the trigeminal nerve afferent fibers (8). Therefore, we evaluated the frequencies of some food allergies in Iranian patients with migraine and tension headaches and their possible impacts in the developments of headaches.
The results of the present study revealed that there was no significant difference in skin allergies to egg, wheat, fish, banana, and soybean allergens between patients with migraine and tension headaches. However, patients with migraine headache had significantly higher skin allergies to peanut, cow’s milk, and tree nut allergens than patients with tension headache.
Although there are few studies showing no significant impacts of food allergens on migraine development (9), the results of this study were consistent with numerous studies pointing to the effects of food allergies on the occurrence of migraine attacks (10–14) and they were in contrast with others indicating foods could be effective on both types of headaches (15, 16). Ku et al. reported that there was a significant difference in migraine prevalence between patients with and without allergic rhinitis (17). In a study conducted by Grant et al. it was demonstrated that some food allergies had fundamental roles in enhancing migraine attacks (10). The most prevalent of these allergens were wheat (78%), orange (65%), egg (45%), tea and coffee (40%), chocolate and milk (37%), beef (35%), corn (35%), sugar (35%), yeast (35%), mushroom (35%), and pear (28%) (10). Monro et al. had similar results in regard to the impacts of food allergens on the occurrence of migraine attacks (18). Wilson et al., evaluated 20 patients with migraine and skin prick test revealed the most prevalent foodstuffs related to migraine headache were wine, cheese, and chocolate (19). Eross et al. revealed that the most common allergens caused headaches in 62% of the patients were grass or special trees (13%), dust (10%), particular foodstuffs (7.7%), cat and dog hairs (5.1%), and mold (2.6%) (20). In another study on individuals with migraine, the most common food allergens which aggravated migraine were egg, cheese, cow’s milk, wheat, tomato, casein, pork, and bean (21). In line with the effects of food allergens on headaches, it is shown that some food allergens like wheat increase the frequency of migraine but not its severity (22). Previous studies on the relationships of asthma and eczema with migraine revealed the increased risk of asthma occurrence in children whose mother had migraine or asthma but not for eczema (23). Other studies have indicated that the migraine in mothers was related to rhinitis in their children (24).
Regarding the fact that migraine headaches may related to the long-term activation of nociceptors, allergies may participate in migraine headaches through releasing cytokines and vasodilators from mast cells and other immune cells in dura mater and thereby lead to vessel vasodilation in central nerve system and activation of the trigeminal nerve afferent fibers (4, 6, 25, 26).