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Migraine and obesity: epidemiology, possible mechanisms and the potential role of weight loss treatment
Author(s) -
Bond D. S.,
Roth J.,
Nash J. M.,
Wing R. R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2010.00791.x
Subject(s) - weight loss , migraine , obesity , medicine , psychological intervention , epidemiology , migraine treatment , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , psychiatry , nursing
Summary Migraine and obesity are two public health problems of enormous scope that are responsible for significant quality of life impairment and financial cost. Recent research suggests that these disorders may be directly related with obesity exacerbating migraine in the form of greater headache frequency and severity, or possibly increasing the risk for having migraine. The relationship b e tween migraine and obesity may be explained through a variety of physiological, psychological and behavioural mechanisms, many of which are affected by weight loss. Given that weight loss might be a viable approach for alleviating migraine in obese individuals, randomized controlled trials are needed to test the effect of weight loss interventions in obese migraineurs. Large‐scale weight loss trials have shown that behavioural interventions, in particular, can produce sustained weight losses and related cardiovascular improvements in patients who are diverse in body weight, age and ethnicity. Consequently, these interventions may provide a useful treatment model for showing whether weight loss reduces headache frequency and severity in obese migraineurs, and offering further insight into pathways through which weight loss might exert an effect.