Drinking Alcohol Not Tied to Migraine Attack Within 24 Hours

FRIDAY, Dec. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There is no significant link between the probability of a migraine attack and consumption of alcohol within 24 hours, according to a study published online Nov. 27 in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain.

Marina Vives-Mestres, Ph.D., from Curelator Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and colleagues assessed whether alcohol intake is associated with the onset of migraine attacks up to two days after consumption in individuals with episodic migraine. The analysis included 487 individuals (5,913 migraine attacks and a total of 40,165 diary days).

The researchers found that after adjusting for sex, age, and average weekly alcohol intake, the presence of migraine on day 2 and its interaction with alcohol intake on day 2 were not significant. Alcohol intake on day 2 was associated with a lower probability of migraine attack (odds ratio, 0.75; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.68 to 0.82; event rate, 21.5 percent). However, the effect of alcohol intake on day 1 was not significant (odds ratio, 1.01; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.11; event rate, 24.9 percent). Results were similar when examining number of beverages consumed.

“Our findings do not support recommending alcohol avoidance to all people with migraine,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text