WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Issa Layka1, Rouba Hamdan and Hasan Younes*

ABSTRACT

Background: Both migraine and obesity are common disorders in the general population, which are characterized by disability and a deterioration in the quality of life. Although many studies have studied the relationship between them, there is still no complete knowledge about this relationship, especially in regard to chronic migraine. Objective: To evaluate the association between body mass index and clinical features of migraine headache. Methods & Materials: We conducted a prospective cohort study of migraine patients attending the Neurological Diseases Clinic and the Internal Ambulance Department at Tishreen University Hospital in Latakia, during the period from May 1, 2021 to May 1, 2022. The sample included (215) patients, who were divided into 4 groups based on their BMI value. Results and Discussion: The mean age was (33.3 ± 9.3) years, and the percentage of females was 73.5%. The average number of attacks during the three months of the study was (10.87 ± 8.4 attacks) for obese patients, and for normal weight patients (2.91 ± 1.2 attacks) (P-value = 0.0001). The aura phase occurred in 59.2% of the obese patients, and in 24.2% of the normal-weight patients (P-value = 0.0001). The average severity of headache attacks was (7.99 ± 1.9) for obese patients, and (6.57 ± 1.9) for normal weight patients (P-value = 0.003). Severe disability from work occurred in 83.7% of obese patients, and in 49.5% of normal weight patients (P-value = 0.0001). The incidence of chronic migraine was 36.7% in obese patients and 2.2% in normal-weight patients (P-value = 0.0001). Conclusion: Obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine in terms of frequency, severity, disability from work, and occurrence of the aura phase, and it is also an important factor in increasing the incidence of migraine chronicity.