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Published on: June 2, 2014
Association between weight status and migraine in the paediatric population: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Carlos Quispe-Vicuña1,2, David R Soriano-Moreno3, Abraham De-Los-Rios-Pinto4
1Sociedad Científica de San Fernando, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru.
Insights
Weight status, including overweight and obesity, may increase migraine risk in children and adolescents. Further research is needed to confirm this association in pediatric populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Previous studies suggest a link between weight status and migraine in adults.
- The association between weight status and migraine in the pediatric population remains understudied.
Approach:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted.
- Searched multiple databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, Embase) up to May 2023.
- Included studies on children and adolescents evaluating weight status (underweight, overweight, obese, excess weight) and migraine.
Key Points:
- Eight studies involving 16,556 participants were included.
- Overall certainty of evidence was very low.
- Sensitivity analyses indicated that overweight and excess weight may increase migraine odds in children and adolescents.
- Better quality studies suggested obesity increases migraine odds.
Conclusions:
- The association between pediatric weight status and migraine is uncertain.
- Higher quality studies suggest a potential increased risk of migraine with overweight, obesity, and excess weight.
- Longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality.
Introduction:
An association between weight status and migraine has been previously reported; however, this relationship has only been studied in adults, not in the paediatric population.
Objective:
To evaluate the association between weight status and migraine in the paediatric population.
Methods:
We searched PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, and Embase using a cut-off date of May 2023. We included observational studies that evaluated the association between weight status (underweight, overweight, obese, and excess weight) and migraine in the paediatric population (children and adolescents). Normal weight was the comparator. The outcome was migraine (all types, episodic and chronic). We performed meta-analyses using a random-effects model to estimate the pooled effects for each outcome. Sensitivity analysis was performed based on study design and risk of bias (using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). Certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach.
Results:
Eight studies (6 cross-sectional, 1 case-control and 1 cohort) covering 16,556 patients were included. The overall certainty of evidence was very low for the association between overweight, obesity, and excess weight with migraine. In the sensitivity analysis, meta-analyses of studies with a low risk of bias found that the overweight population probably had an increased odds of migraine (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.14 to 2.53; I2 = 32.3%, p = 0.224) and that excess weight may increase the odds of migraine (OR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.35; I2 = 83.7%, p = 0.002). Additionally, cohort and case-control studies found that obesity probably increases the odds of migraine. No studies analysed the association between underweight and migraine.
Conclusion:
The associations between overweight, obesity, excess weight and migraine were uncertain, but studies with better methodological quality reported increased odds. Future longitudinal studies with proper confounding control are needed to disentangle their causal relationship.
Systematic Review Registration:
PROSPERO, identifier CRD42021271533.
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