Purpose: The relationship between food allergy caused by food specific IgG antibodies and migraine has received increased attention in recent years. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of food specific IgG antibodies on headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, dermatosis, and serum inflammatory cytokines in migraine patients, and to quantitatively assess the effect of IgG levels on the severity of headache and its comorbidities.
Methods: Of 89 migraine patients, those who had one or more food specific IgG antibodies ≥ 50 U/mL were classified into the IgG positive group, which was then further divided into subgroups based on differing numbers of food allergens. All other subjects were classified into the IgG negative group. We compared the frequency and severity of migraine, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, dermatosis, and inflammatory cytokines between groups. A regression model was performed to further assess the effect of overall positive IgG concentration and the mediation effect of inflammatory cytokines.
Results: Participants in the positive IgG group (n = 67) were more likely to have longer time elapsed since diagnosis, more frequent and severe migraine, a higher risk of developing anxiety and gastrointestinal symptoms, along with higher IL-6 and TNF-α. Subgroups with more food allergens generally had worse conditions as well. After adjusting for the inflammatory cytokines, the effect of IgG was reduced.
Conclusion: Migraine patients with positive food specific IgG antibodies had worse migraine, anxiety, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Inflammatory cytokines partially mediate the causal pathway between food specific IgG antibodies, migraine, and migraine comorbidities.
Keywords: migraine, food, immunoglobulin G antibody, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor- α