title: Body mass index and its impact on migraine prevalence and severity in female patients: preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A strikingly increasing number of obese patients causes a great interest in potential medical problems resulting from abnormal body weight. Many conditions are associated with obesity. The severity and risk of migraine may be connected with a body weight. We would like to assess a correlation between body mass index (BMI) and frequency and duration of migraine.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected data of 53 female patients with migraine and 36 healthy persons (25 women) as a control group. Mean duration of migraine attacks and their mean frequency were based on patients' diaries. The patients reported their height. Weight was measured by the authors. We consequently calculated BMI and performed statistics on SAS 9.2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean BMI of the migraine group was 24.27 ± 4.47. Forty-nine percent of patients had normal BMI (18.5-25), 30% patients were overweight (>25) and 13% were obese (>30). The mean BMI among controls was 22.69 ± 2.96. Eighty-four percent of the control group had normal BMI, 12% was overweight and 5% was obese. An association of BMI in women with frequency of migraine episodes per month occurred remarkable when adjusted for age. Difference of a mean BMI value between the migraine and the control group was nearly statistically significant. Body mass index and duration of the episodes revealed similarly strong correlation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased BMI correlates with frequency of migraine. Its influence on a risk of the headaches and their duration remains to be specified.
authors: Department of Neurology, Medical University, Warsaw, Poland.
authors: Kamil
authors: K
authors: Chorążka
authors: Department of Neurology, Medical University, Warsaw, Poland.
authors: Marlena
authors: M
authors: Janoska
authors: Department of Neurology, Medical University, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: izabela.domitrz@wum.edu.pl.
authors: Izabela
authors: I
authors: Domitrz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body mass index; Cardiovascular diseases; Migraine; Obesity