Losing weight can lessen migraines and enhance the quality of life for obese migraineurs, according to Italian and American researchers. The results of their meta-analysis will be presented Saturday, March 23 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La.
“If you suffer from migraine headaches and are obese, losing weight will ameliorate the quality of your family and social life as well as your work and school productivity. Your overall quality of life will greatly improve,” said lead study author Claudio Pagano, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Padova in Padova, Italy.
“Weight loss in adults and children with obesity greatly improves migraine headaches by improving all the main features that worsen migraineurs’ quality of life,” he added. “When people lose weight, the number of days per month with migraine decreases, as does pain severity and headache attack duration.”
Pagano and his colleagues searched the standard online medical research databases for studies that looked at pain intensity, headache frequency, attack duration, disability; and BMI, BMI change, intervention (bariatric surgery versus behavioral), and population (adult versus pediatric). Their goal was to determine the effects of weight loss achieved through bariatric surgery or behavioral intervention on migraine frequency and severity.
Obesity and migraine are common in industrialized countries. Improving quality of life and disability for these patients will greatly impact these populations and reduce direct and indirect healthcare costs.
Claudio Pagano
In a meta-analysis of the 473 patients in the 10 studies that met the researchers’ inclusion criteria, they found that weight loss was linked with significant reductions in headache frequency, pain intensity, and disability (all p<0.0001); as well as attack duration (p=0.01).
Improvement in migraine frequency was not associated with baseline obesity levels or weight loss rates. Additionally, both adults and children experienced similar effects on migraine when weight loss was attained by bariatric surgery or behavioral counseling.
“Weight loss reduces the impact of conditions associated with obesity, including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases,” Pagano said. “Obesity and migraine are common in industrialized countries. Improving quality of life and disability for these patients will greatly impact these populations and reduce direct and indirect healthcare costs.”
According to scientists, the mechanisms relating to obesity, weight reduction, and migraine headaches are still unknown, but they might involve changes in chronic inflammation, adipocytokines, obesity comorbidities, behavioral risk factors, and psychological risk factors.
