OBJECTIVES: Research increasingly suggests that obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine. However, it is less clear whether weight loss may help to alleviate migraine in obese individuals. We examined whether weight loss after bariatric surgery is associated with improvements in migraine headaches. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, 24 patients who had migraine according to the ID-Migraine screener were assessed before and 6 months after bariatric surgery. At both time points, patients had their weight measured and reported on frequency of headache days, average headache pain severity, and headache-related disability over the past 90 days via the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire. Changes in headache measures and the relation of weight loss to these changes were assessed using paired-sample t tests and logistic regression, respectively. RESULTS: Patients were mostly female (88%), middle-aged (mean age 39.3), and severely obese (mean body mass index 46.6) at baseline. Mean (±SD) number of headache days was reduced from 11.1 ± 10.3 preoperatively to 6.7 ± 8.2 postoperatively (p < 0.05), after a mean percent excess weight loss (%EWL) of 49.4%. The odds of experiencing a ≥50% reduction in headache days was related to greater %EWL, independent of surgery type (p < 0.05). Reductions in severity were also observed (p < 0.05) and the number of patients reporting moderate to severe disability decreased from 12 (50.0%) before surgery to 3 (12.5%) after surgery (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Severely obese migraineurs experience marked alleviation of headaches after significant weight reduction via bariatric surgery. Future studies are needed to determine whether more modest, behaviorally produced weight losses can effect similar migraine improvements.
OBJECTIVES: Research increasingly suggests that obesity is an exacerbating factor for migraine. However, it is less clear whether weight loss may help to alleviate migraine in obese individuals. We examined whether weight loss after bariatric surgery is associated with improvements in migraine headaches. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, 24 patients who had migraine according to the ID-Migraine screener were assessed before and 6 months after bariatric surgery. At both time points, patients had their weight measured and reported on frequency of headache days, average headache pain severity, and headache-related disability over the past 90 days via the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire. Changes in headache measures and the relation of weight loss to these changes were assessed using paired-sample t tests and logistic regression, respectively. RESULTS:Patients were mostly female (88%), middle-aged (mean age 39.3), and severely obese (mean body mass index 46.6) at baseline. Mean (±SD) number of headache days was reduced from 11.1 ± 10.3 preoperatively to 6.7 ± 8.2 postoperatively (p < 0.05), after a mean percent excess weight loss (%EWL) of 49.4%. The odds of experiencing a ≥50% reduction in headache days was related to greater %EWL, independent of surgery type (p < 0.05). Reductions in severity were also observed (p < 0.05) and the number of patients reporting moderate to severe disability decreased from 12 (50.0%) before surgery to 3 (12.5%) after surgery (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Severely obese migraineurs experience marked alleviation of headaches after significant weight reduction via bariatric surgery. Future studies are needed to determine whether more modest, behaviorally produced weight losses can effect similar migraine improvements.
Authors: P Tfelt-Hansen; G Block; C Dahlöf; H C Diener; M D Ferrari; P J Goadsby; V Guidetti; B Jones; R B Lipton; H Massiou; C Meinert; G Sandrini; T Steiner; P B Winter Journal: Cephalalgia Date: 2000-11 Impact factor: 6.292
Authors: Melinda A Maggard; Lisa R Shugarman; Marika Suttorp; Margaret Maglione; Harvey J Sugerman; Harvey J Sugarman; Edward H Livingston; Ninh T Nguyen; Zhaoping Li; Walter A Mojica; Lara Hilton; Shannon Rhodes; Sally C Morton; Paul G Shekelle Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2005-04-05 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: R B Lipton; D Dodick; R Sadovsky; K Kolodner; J Endicott; J Hettiarachchi; W Harrison Journal: Neurology Date: 2003-08-12 Impact factor: 9.910
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Authors: Dale S Bond; Kevin C O'Leary; J Graham Thomas; Richard B Lipton; George D Papandonatos; Julie Roth; Lucille Rathier; Richard Daniello; Rena R Wing Journal: Contemp Clin Trials Date: 2013-03-22 Impact factor: 2.226