Association between Body Mass Index and Migraine

Objective: To explore the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients with migraine. Background: Previous studies support the concept that obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine. Also, some studies have found an increased frequency of obesity and overweight in migraine patients compared to the normal population. Methods: We studied 1,371 patients with migraine and 612 controls. The migraine population was matched by gender with a healthy control group. Results: Mean age of patients with migraine was 38.0 +/- 13.3 years and in the controls it was 34.8 +/- 12.1 years. The percentage of females in both groups was similar (migraine 81.6% vs. control 83.3%, p = 0.40). The distribution of body mass index (BMI) in migraine patients and controls was as follows: underweight patients (BMI < 18.5) 3.1% migraine versus controls 1.5%; normal (BMI 18.5-24.9) 44.8% migraine versus controls 47.1%; overweight (BMI 25-29.9) 38.3% migraine versus controls 33.7%; obese (BMI 30-34.5) 10.3% migraine versus controls 13.6%; morbidly obese (BMI 35) 3.4% migraine versus controls 4.2%. Overweight and obesity in migraine patients versus controls were statistically significant. No association was found between the disability and severity of migraine and BMI. Conclusions: This study did not find associations between severity or disability of migraine and BMI. Copyright (c) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel