The association of nutrient intake with epilepsy: A cross-sectional study from NHANES, 2013-2014

Dietary nutrient supplements are helpful in the treatment of many diseases, but their effect on epilepsy is still controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary intake of multiple nutrients and epilepsy.

A total of 3963 participants from the NHANES database were involved in this study. We compared the dietary intake of 14 nutrients between the normal population and those with epilepsy. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to evaluate the association of these nutrients with epilepsy.

Compared with the normal population, the epilepsy patients showed lower intakes of protein, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, Fe, and Zn. Multivariable logistic regression showed the negative association of vitamin B1 (OR = 0.513, 95% CI: 0.293, 0.897) with epilepsy. When vitamin B1 was divided into 4 groups according to quartiles, the highest quartile showed a lower odds ratio (OR = 0.338, 95% CI: 0.115, 0.997) than that of the lowest quartile. In different population stratifications, the association of vitamin B1 with epilepsy was different. Vitamin B1 was negatively associated with the odds ratio of epilepsy among the elderly (OR = 0.243), low-income population (OR = 0.337), and current smokers (OR = 0.283).

Epilepsy patients had significantly lower intakes of vitamin B1, which was inversely associated with epilepsy risk. More detailed clinical trials are needed to accurately evaluate nutritional supplements for epilepsy.