TY - JOUR
T1 - Body mass index and episodic headaches
T2 - A population-based study
AU - Bigal, Marcelo E.
AU - Tsang, Amy
AU - Loder, Elizabeth
AU - Serrano, Daniel
AU - Reed, Michael L.
AU - Lipton, Richard B.
PY - 2007/10/8
Y1 - 2007/10/8
N2 - Background: We investigated the influence of the body mass index (BMI [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) on the frequency, severity, and patterns of treatment of migraine, probable migraine (PM), and severe episodic tension-type headache (S-ETTH). Methods: A validated questionnaire was mailed to 120 000 households selected to be representative of the US population. The participants were divided into 5 categories based on BMI: underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), obese (30.0-34.9), and morbidly obese (>35.0). Analyses were adjusted by covariates that included demographic variables (age, sex, race, and income), duration of illness, comorbidities, use of preventive medication, and use of opioids. Results: The response rate was 65%. We identified 18 968 individuals with migraine, 7564 with PM, and 2051 with S-ETTH. The distribution of very frequent headaches (10-14 d/mo) was assessed by BMI. Among individuals with migraine, very frequent headaches (10-14 d/mo) occurred in 7.4% of the overweight (P=.10), 8.2% of the obese (P<.001), and 10.4% of the morbidly obese (P<.0001) subjects, compared with 6.5% of those with normal weight, in adjusted analyses. Among individuals with PM and S-ETTH, the differences were not significant (P=.20). The disability of migraineurs, but not of those with PM or S-ETTH, also varied as a function of BMI. Among migraineurs, 32.0% of those with normal weight had some disability compared with 37.2% of the overweight (P<.01), 38.4% of the obese (P<.001), and 40.9% of the morbidly obese (P<.001) subjects. Conclusion: These findings support the concept that obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine but not for other types of episodic headaches.
AB - Background: We investigated the influence of the body mass index (BMI [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) on the frequency, severity, and patterns of treatment of migraine, probable migraine (PM), and severe episodic tension-type headache (S-ETTH). Methods: A validated questionnaire was mailed to 120 000 households selected to be representative of the US population. The participants were divided into 5 categories based on BMI: underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), obese (30.0-34.9), and morbidly obese (>35.0). Analyses were adjusted by covariates that included demographic variables (age, sex, race, and income), duration of illness, comorbidities, use of preventive medication, and use of opioids. Results: The response rate was 65%. We identified 18 968 individuals with migraine, 7564 with PM, and 2051 with S-ETTH. The distribution of very frequent headaches (10-14 d/mo) was assessed by BMI. Among individuals with migraine, very frequent headaches (10-14 d/mo) occurred in 7.4% of the overweight (P=.10), 8.2% of the obese (P<.001), and 10.4% of the morbidly obese (P<.0001) subjects, compared with 6.5% of those with normal weight, in adjusted analyses. Among individuals with PM and S-ETTH, the differences were not significant (P=.20). The disability of migraineurs, but not of those with PM or S-ETTH, also varied as a function of BMI. Among migraineurs, 32.0% of those with normal weight had some disability compared with 37.2% of the overweight (P<.01), 38.4% of the obese (P<.001), and 40.9% of the morbidly obese (P<.001) subjects. Conclusion: These findings support the concept that obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine but not for other types of episodic headaches.
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U2 - 10.1001/archinte.167.18.1964
DO - 10.1001/archinte.167.18.1964
M3 - Article
C2 - 17923596
AN - SCOPUS:35348935599
SN - 0003-9926
VL - 167
SP - 1964
EP - 1970
JO - Archives of internal medicine
JF - Archives of internal medicine
IS - 18
ER -