associations between food insecurity and tension-type headache in steel industry employees

Background and objectives: food insecurity, defined as limited or uncertain access to adequate and nutritious foods, includes negative effects on physical and mental health. tension-type headache, the most common form of primary headache, can significantly affect individuals’ quality of life. the two factors are linked to socioeconomic status.materials and methods: the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between food insecurity and incidence of tension-type headaches in employees of isfahan steel industry, isfahan, iran.results: findings showed that employees with a bachelor’s degree or lower, less than 7 h of sleep, consumption of less than the recommended quantity of the meat and legumes group (5.5 u/d) and lower food security were further likely to experience tension-type headaches (p < 0.05). logistic regression analysis identified food insecurity as the strongest predictor of tension-type headaches.conclusions: improving food security, increasing educational attainment and ensuring adequate sleep may help decrease the incidence of tension-type headaches. additionally, maintaining balanced consumption of food groups, especially meats and legumes, could decrease the occurrence of tension-type headaches. further prospective studies are necessary to investigate the causal relationships between food security and tension-type headaches.