Body Mass Index and its Association with Migraine Characteristics in Female Patients

Migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder with a high prevalence. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and disability, severity, frequency and duration of headaches in female migraine patients.

This cross-sectional study was designed to address the characteristics of migraine attacks (duration of each attack, frequency, and severity) and MIDAS (Migraine Disability Assessment) score in female migraineurs. The diagnosis of migraine was based on ICHD-3 beta criteria. Verbal rating scale (VRS) was used for headache severity. Height and weight were measured to calculate the BMI. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparison of means, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test was used for adjustment of the confounding factors.

In the current study, 170 female migraine patients with a mean (±SD) age of 34.0 ± 8.0 years were enrolled. There were significant differences between the three groups (18.5 ≤ BMI< 25, 25 ≤ BMI < 30 and 30 ≤ BMI) in terms of headache frequency, duration and severity as well as total MIDAS score (P<0.001). These differences remained significant after adjustment for age.

This study revealed that migraineurs with higher BMI experienced higher headache frequency, severity and duration as well as higher disability score.