Vitamin K2 Status and Arterial Stiffness Among Untreated Migraine Patients: A Case-Control Study.

Abstract

We aimed to examine arterial stiffness and vitamin K2 status in migraine subjects by comparison to controls. Migraine is a primary headache disorder that has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Mechanisms underlying this increased risk, however, remain unclear. Vitamin K2 deficiency emerged as a cardiovascular risk factor, but vitamin K2 status has never been explored in migraine subjects. This is a case-control, single-center, observational study that includes a cohort of subjects with migraine and their age- and sex-matched controls. Arterial stiffness was measured using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated matrix-Gla-protein (dp-ucMGP) was used as a marker for vitamin K2 status. A propensity-matched scoring method was used. A total of 146 patients (73 matched pairs) were included in this study, of whom 89% were women with a mean age of 31.9±8.4years. Compared with controls, migraine patients had statistically significantly higher mean cfPWV (7.2±1.1 vs 6.4±0.8m/s, 95% confidence interval (CI) of mean difference [0.45, 1.08], P<.001), as well as higher dp-ucMGP (454.3±116.7pmol/L vs 379.8±126.6pmol/L, 95% CI of mean difference [34.63, 114.31], P<.001). Higher cfPWV was associated with higher dp-ucMGP concentrations only in the migraine with aura (MWA) group. Moreover, migraine subjects had a higher frequency of vitamin K2 deficiency (dp-ucMGP≥500pmol/L) compared to controls, but this association was not statistically significant (23/73 [31.5%] vs 16/73 [21.9%], P=.193). Individuals with migraine have worse indices of arterial stiffness as compared with their age- and sex-matched control subjects. This increase in arterial stiffness is associated with an increase in markers of vitamin K2 deficiency in the MWA group.