Short-Term Changes in Migraine Burden After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Prospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Metabolic Surgery
• Neurology
• Obesity Medicine

Background:

• Obesity is linked to increased migraine frequency and disability.
• Bariatric surgery shows potential for reducing migraine burden.
• The precise link between weight loss extent and migraine improvement post-surgery needs further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on migraine outcomes in severely obese adults.
• To assess the relationship between the magnitude of postoperative weight loss and migraine improvement.

Main Methods:

• Prospective single-arm, before-after study involving 52 adults with severe obesity and migraine.
• RYGB surgery performed.
• Migraine outcomes assessed preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively using MIDAS, MSQ, migraine frequency, and VAS pain severity.
• Paired t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficients used for analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant reductions in body weight (-28.9 kg) and BMI (-10.9 kg/m²) observed at 3 months.
• Substantial decreases in migraine frequency (15.4 to 5.0 episodes), pain severity (7.2 to 3.7 VAS), MIDAS scores (94.0 to 34.9), and MSQ impairment scores (52.6 to 31.2).
• Migraine improvement was not significantly correlated with age or the amount of weight lost.

Conclusions:

• RYGB is associated with significant short-term improvements in migraine frequency, severity, disability, and quality of life in severely obese adults.
• These improvements were not correlated with weight loss magnitude or patient age.
• Metabolic surgery may alleviate migraine burden, but further controlled studies with longer follow-up are warranted.