The effect of riboflavin supplementation on migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials studies

Abstract

Background: Several studies have evaluated the effect of riboflavin supplementation on migraine attack with conflicting results. To estimate the conformity of the data on the topic, we accomplished a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available randomized clinical trials studies. To evaluate the effects of Riboflavin supplementation on frequency and duration of migraine attack.

Methods:

A systematic research of randomized controlled trials has been conducted on Medline and EMBASE through PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar that was completed by a manual review of the literature up to December 2017. Pooled effect estimated by using random-effect model and heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran’s Q and I² tests.

Results: Of 411 articles finally 5 RCTs were met inclusion criteria. The results of this meta-analysis showed that the WMD of migraine attack duration from baseline was -11.58 hr. (95% confidence interval = -15.93 to -7.22, p < 0.001) and the WMD of migraine attack frequency from baseline was -2.68 number of migraine attack per month (95% confidence interval = -4.03 to -1.32, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: This meta-analysis confirmed that riboflavin supplementation has beneficial effects in relieving migraine attacks as adjunctive therapies and it can reduce the frequency and duration of migraine but additional RCTs in which enough randomization methods are used for evaluating the effects of riboflavin supplementation on migraine attacks are warranted.