Body mass index and migraine: a survey of the Chinese adult population.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and migraine in general population Chinese cohort. This was a cross-sectional secondary analysis from a general population Chinese cohort of men and women of reproductive and post-reproductive age ranging between 18 and 65 years. Migraine was defined utilizing ICHD criteria. Body mass indices were calculated using measured height and weight and categorized based on the World Health Organizations criteria. The 1-year period prevalence of migraine was 9.3 %. No association was identified between migraine and those with a BMI < 30.0. Compared to those with normal BMI (18.5-23.0), those with BMI ≥ 30 (morbid obesity) had a greater prevalence of migraine (8.6 vs. 13.8 %, p = 0.000). Multivariate-adjusted odds ratio demonstrated that those with morbid obesity had a greater than twofold increased odds of migraine [OR 2.10 (1.39-3.12)] as compared to those with a BMI between 18.5 and 23.0. No association was found between obesity and migraine severity, frequency, or disability. Morbid obesity was associated with twofold increased odds of migraine in this Chinese men and women cohort of predominantly reproductive age.

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The Journal of Headache and Pain
Official Journal of the "European
Headache Federation" and of "Lifting
The Burden - The Global Campaign
against Headache"

ISSN 1129-2369
Volume 13
Number 7

J Headache Pain (2012) 13:531-536
DOI 10.1007/s10194-012-0470-5
Body mass index and migraine: a survey of
the Chinese adult population
Shengyuan Yu, Ruozhuo Liu, Xiaosu
Yang, Gang Zhao, Xiangyang Qiao,
Jiachun Feng, Yannan Fang, Xiutang
Cao, Mianwang He & Timothy J. Steiner

Page 2

123
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ORIGINAL
Body mass index and migraine: a survey of the Chinese adult
population
Shengyuan Yu•Ruozhuo Liu•Xiaosu Yang•Gang Zhao•Xiangyang Qiao•
Jiachun Feng•Yannan Fang•Xiutang Cao•Mianwang He•Timothy J. Steiner
Received: 15 May 2012/Accepted: 2 July 2012/Published online: 19 July 2012
? The Author(s) 2012. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract
association between body mass index (BMI) and migraine
in general population Chinese cohort. This was a cross-
sectional secondary analysis from a general population
Chinese cohort of men and women of reproductive and
post-reproductive age ranging between 18 and 65 years.
Migraine was defined utilizing ICHD criteria. Body mass
indices were calculated using measured height and weight
The objective of this study is to evaluate the
and categorized based on the World Health Organizations
criteria. The 1-year period prevalence of migraine was
9.3 %. No association was identified between migraine and
those with a BMI\30.0. Compared to those with normal
BMI (18.5–23.0), those with BMI C 30 (morbid obesity)
had a greater prevalence of migraine (8.6 vs. 13.8 %,
p = 0.000). Multivariate-adjusted odds ratio demonstrated
that those with morbid obesity had a greater than twofold
increased odds of migraine [OR 2.10 (1.39–3.12)] as
compared to those with a BMI between 18.5 and 23.0. No
association was found between obesity and migraine
severity, frequency, or disability. Morbid obesity was
associated with twofold increased odds of migraine in this
Chinese men and women cohort of predominantly repro-
ductive age.
Keywords
Body mass index ? Obesity
Headache ? Migraine ? Prevalence ?
Introduction
Obesity is a major medical and public-health problem
worldwide, affecting virtually all age and socioeconomic
groups. Its prevalence is constantly increasing throughout
the world [1, 2], and it threatens to overwhelm both
developed and developing countries. In China, obesity,
defined as body mass index (BMI) C23.0 kg/m2, affects
almost half (44.6 %) of the adult population among adults
age 40 years and above (men: 46.4 %; women: 43.6 %)
[3].
Migraine is also a major public-health problem world-
wide, although less well recognized. In China, its preva-
lence in adults is 9.3 % (men: 5.9 %; women: 12.8 %) [4],
and it causes substantial illness and disability. Apart from
S. Yu (&) ? R. Liu ? M. He
Department of Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital,
Fuxing Road 28, Haidian District, 100853 Beijing, China
e-mail: yusy1963@126.com
X. Yang
Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital,
Central-South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
G. Zhao
Department of Neurology, The Fourth Military Medical
University, Xian, Shaanxi Province, China
X. Qiao
Department of Neurology, Affiliated Huashan Hospital of Fudan
University, Shanghai, China
J. Feng
Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of Jilin University,
Changchun, Jilin Province, China
Y. Fang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun
Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
X. Cao
Department of Health and Economics,
Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
T. J. Steiner
Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
123
J Headache Pain (2012) 13:531–536
DOI 10.1007/s10194-012-0470-5

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their immediate impacts on well-being and ability to
function, migraine and obesity are independent risk factors
for cardiovascular disease [5, 6], comorbid with pain-
related and psychiatric conditions [7–9] and lead to quality-
of-life impairments [10, 11]. These associations add to
their importance as causes of public ill-health. There are, in
addition, suggestions that obesity and migraine are them-
selves associated. Several (predominantly Caucasian)
general population studies have shown an association
between migraine and obesity in those of reproductive age
[12–15]. There were reports that obesity is associated with
higher frequency and severity of headache attacks among
individuals who have migraine [16–18].
We investigated these associations in a recently
completed large nationwide cross-sectional survey of the
Chinese population [4, 19], with the support of Lifting The
Burden: the Global Campaign against Headache [20]. This
was the first study evaluating the association between
migraine and obesity in an Asian population. Through the
comparison between Asia-Pacific population and Cauca-
sian population, it helps for us to more thoroughly under-
stand the association between obesity and migraine.
Methods
Data source
This was a secondary analysis of previous epidemiological
survey data of primary headache disorders in mainland of
China [4].
Ethics
The study protocol was approved by the Chinese Ministry
of Health and the ethics committee of the Chinese PLA
General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Previous epidemiological study
In 2009, we performed a door-to-door survey of 5,041
respondents throughout China to establish the prevalence
of headache disorders [4, 19]. We included basic demo-
graphic information (habitation, age, gender, marital status,
occupation and educational level). We employed a struc-
tured questionnaire, translated into Chinese from the
English version developed by Lifting The Burden [20] for
population-based studies and validated within the target
population in a sub-study. We obtained a representative
sample of the Chinese adult population using random-
sampling software according to the EPI method established
by WHO [21]. The method, described in detail elsewhere
[4], is summarized as follows. China mainland has 27
provinces and 4 municipalities, which were merged into 24
units in a sampling frame based on the population size.
From these 24 units, 35 cities or districts were randomly
selected for sampling and, from each city or district, 20–30
towns or streets were randomly selected in proportion to
the population. One village or community was randomly
selected from each town or street, and one household was
randomly selected from each village or community. The
survey started from the selected household, and continued
to include seven households along the same direction
randomly decided by the interviewer. In each household,
verbal consent was obtained first. Then the investigator
listed all family members aged 18–65 years, and randomly
selected one from the list to take part in the survey. The
interviewers were neurologists employed by local hospi-
tals, who lived close to the selected survey sites. They had
completed a joint training programme on ICHD-II [22]
provided by headache specialists and on survey method-
ology by epidemiology experts. Diagnoses were based on
the ICHD-II criteria [22] and made algorithmically from
questionnaire responses, a process that was validated in a
subsample [4].
Among those with migraine, severity was assessed
subjectively by respondents on a visual analogue scale
(VAS) of 0–10, and ‘‘severe’’ headache was defined as
VAS C8. ‘‘Frequent’’ headache was defined as occurring
on 10–14 days/month (respondents with headache on
C15 days/month were few and not included in this analy-
sis). ‘‘Disabling’’ headache was defined as MIDAS grades
II–IV [23].
Anthropometric measurements
All body measurements used standard anthropometric
protocols. Weight was recorded in kg using a calibrated
digital scale. Height in meters was obtained from a fixed
stadiometer. BMI was calculated as weight divided by
square of height.
The classification of body weight followed the WHO
guideline for the Asia-Pacific population [24]: under-
weight, BMI\18.5; normal, BMI 18.5 to \23.0; over-
weight, BMI 23.0 to\25.0; obese, BMI 25.0 to\30.0; and
morbidly obese, BMI C 30.0 kg/m2.
Statistical analysis
All demographic variables were categorized and presented
as percentages. Age was also expressed as means ± stan-
dard deviations (SD). Migraine prevalence was estimated
aspercentages ± standard
Chi-squared tests were used to determine whether different
weight categories had significant (p B 0.05) differences in
migraine prevalence, severity, frequency and/or disability.
errors(SE). Independent
532J Headache Pain (2012) 13:531–536
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Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95 % con-
fidence intervals (CI) were calculated by logistic regression
taking into account of the following variables: age, gender,
habitation, marital status, occupation, educational level.
Results
Among the 5,041 survey participants, 12 with missing
height or weight data were excluded, leaving 5,029 for
the analysis [mean age: 43.6 ± 12.8 years; male 2,557
(mean age: 43.4 ± 12.9 years); female 2,472 (mean age
43.9 ± 12.8 years)]. Table 1 shows the distribution of
demographic variables in the sample.
BMI categories are shown in Table 2, together with
the estimated 1-year prevalence of migraine in each cate-
gory. Overall, differences were significant (v2= 14.661;
p = 0.005). Virtually all of this difference was accounted
for by the morbidly obese category, with a highly signifi-
cantly increased prevalence of migraine (16.8 ± 2.7 %)
compared with the normal weight category (8.6 ± 0.6 %;
v2= 14.427, p\0.001; AOR = 2.095 [95 % CI 1.392–
3.154], p\0.001).
Severity, frequency and disability levels among differ-
ent BMI categories showed no significant differences
(Tables 3, 4, 5). It’s worth noting that participants in the
underweight category tended more frequently to have
severe migraine (47.8 ± 10.4 vs. 27.9 ± 3.7 %; AOR =
2.32 [0.94–5.75]; p = 0.070) and were more likely to be
disabled (70.8 ± 9.3 % vs. 50.0 ± 3.8 %; AOR = 2.34
[0.92–5.97]; p = 0.075) than those of normal weight.
Table 1 Basic demographic data of the sample and migraine prev-
alence among different sub-groups
N
%Prevalence n (%)
Gender
Male2,55750.8152 (5.9 %)
Female2,47249.2 317 (12.8 %)
Habitation
Urban1,58331.5163 (10.3 %)
Rural3,44668.5306 (8.9 %)
Marital status
Unmarried51410.2 13 (2.5 %)
Married4,342 86.3438 (10.1 %)
Divorced61 1.27 (11.5 %)
Widowed1122.2 11 (9.8 %)
Educational level
Illiterate4068.1 47 (11.6 %)
Primary school1,24024.7 145 (11.7 %)
Secondary school1,890 37.6147 (7.8 %)
High school95319.082 (8.6 %)
College 54010.7 48 (8.9 %)
Occupation
Unemployed 428 8.540 (9.3 %)
Farmer2,999 59.6304 (10.1 %)
Worker 70013.955 (7.9 %)
Student1292.64 (3.1 %)
Officer65413.0 61 (9.3 %)
Other99 2.03 (3.0 %)
Soldier 200.4 2 (10.0 %)
Age (years)
18–2984716.8 27 (3.2 %)
30–39 1,06821.2107 (10.0 %)
40–491,30125.9 154 (11.8 %)
50–59 1,13522.6 115 (10.1 %)
60–6567813.566 (9.7 %)
Table 2 1 year migraine prevalence and adjusted odds ratios (AOR)
for BMI categories
BMI
N
Prevalence
n (%)
AOR (95 % CI)
p
Normal2,469 212 (8.6 %)Reference
Underweight 26227 (10.3 %) 1.22 (0.80–1.87) 0.359
Overweight 1,064100 (9.4 %)1.08 (0.84–1.39) 0.541
Obese 1,04496 (9.2 %)1.04 (0.80–1.34)0.795
Morbidly obese19032 (16.8 %) 2.10 (1.39–3.15) 0.000
Total5,029 467 (9.3 %)
Overall v2= 14.661
p = 0.005
Table 3 Proportions with, and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for, severe
migraine (VAS C8) among different BMI categories
BMI Severe migraine
n/denominator (%)
AOR
(95 % CI)
p
Normal41/147 (27.9 %)Reference
Underweight 11/23 (47.8 %)2.32 (0.94–5.75)0.070
Overweight 20/82 (24.4 %)0.83 (0.44–1.57)0.569
Obese 16/73 (21.9 %)0.72 (0.36–1.43)0.348
Morbidly obese 8/25 (32.0 %) 1.13 (0.45–2.86)0.793
Total96/350 (27.4 %)
Overall v2= 6.580
p = 0.160
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Discussion
First we emphasize the need, when analyzing and inter-
preting these data, to take into consideration the WHO
body weight classification guideline specifically for the
Asia-Pacific population [24]. Doing this, we found a link
between obesity and migraine prevalence rather than
severity, frequency or disability. Morbidly obese respon-
dents were twice as likely as those of normal weight to
have migraine, the difference being highly significant.
However, other BMI categories (underweight, overweight
and obese) showed little relationship with prevalence.
There were matching trends in the underweight to have
migraine of greater severity and be more disabled.
The relationship between migraine and obesity was first
evaluated in a clinic-based study, which found obese
patients were three times as likely as age-matched normal-
weight controls to have migraine [25]. Ford et al. [12]
found that those who were underweight (BMI\18.5) or
obese (BMI C 30) were at higher risk for having severe
headaches or migraine compared with those of normal
weight. Peterlin et al. [13] found, in men and women aged
20–55 years, that higher migraine prevalence was associ-
ated with both total and abdominal obesity. And, this was
the first study which suggested and clearly demonstrated
that older individuals or those of post-reproductive age
who have migraine do not have an association with obesity
while those of reproductive age do, which also suggested
that both obesity and migraine are modulated by repro-
ductive status [26, 27]. The finding that migraine and
obesity are associated in those of reproductive age by
Peterlin et al. [13] was also later supported by data from Vo
et al. [15] and Robberstad et al. [14]. Vo et al. [15] found a
significant association between migraine and obesity and
that the odds of migraine increased with increasing obesity
status. Robberstad et al. [14] found that recurrent headache
was associated with overweight (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4,
95 % CI 1.2–1.6, p\0.0001).
The role of race played in the association between
migraine and obesity is not clear at present. In contrast to
the Peterlin et al. [13] study and Vo et al. [15] study which
were predominantly Caucasian population, our study has
shown that there is an association between morbid obesity
and migraine in a Asian population for the first time.
The reproductive status influence should be taken into
consideration. While two studies done by Winter et al. [28]
and Mattsson [29] evaluating populations of only post-
reproductive age showed no association between migraine
and obesity. Comparing with Peterlin et al. [13] study,
Mattsson [29] study mainly focus on post-menopausal age
group. Both reproductive age and post-menopausal age
groups were included in our study, which might dilute our
findings.
Bigal et al. [16, 18] found that obesity, while not asso-
ciated with increased prevalence of migraine, was related
to frequent headache attacks (10–14 headache days/
month), headache disability and likelihood of experiencing
severe headache. Queiroz et al. [30] found no significant
relationship between migraine and BMI. Keith et al. [31]
found that obese women had increased risk of headache,
but not specifically migraine. Te ´llez-Zenteno et al. [32]
found that there was no association between the disability
and severity of migraine and BMI.
In conclusion, several general population group studies
have shown a clear association between obesity and
migraine in those of reproductive age group [13–15]. In our
study, we found migraine prevalence was significantly
raised in the morbidly obese group, and this was a sub-
stantial and statistically significant increase. We also
observed that there was a weak link between being
underweight and migraine severity and disability.
Our study has several strengths. It was the first China
nationwide study on headache of a population-based ran-
domly selected sample, and was also the first migraine
and obesity study in Asians, utilizing properly utilized
Table 4 Proportions with, and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for,
frequent migraine attacks (10–14 days/month) among different BMI
categories
BMI Frequent migraine
n/denominator (%)
AOR
(95 % CI)
p
Normal10/121 (8.3 %) Reference
Underweight0/13 (0.0 %)0.000 0.999
Overweight 5/65 (7.7 %)1.03 (0.32–3.29) 0.960
Obese8/53 (15.1 %)2.11 (0.74–5.98)0.161
Morbidly obese 1/18 (5.6 %)0.64 (0.08–5.41) 0.680
Total 24/270 (8.9 %)
Overall v2= 4.208
p = 0.379
Table 5 Proportions with, and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for,
disabling migraine (MIDAS grades II–IV) among different BMI
categories
BMIDisabling migraine
n/denominator (%)
AOR
(95 % CI)
p
Normal87/174 (50.0 %)Reference
Underweight17/24 (70.8 %)2.34 (0.92–5.97)0.075
Overweight46/89 (51.7 %)1.09 (0.65–1.82)0.751
Obese41/84 (48.8 %)0.98 (0.57–1.67)0.940
Morbidly obese 14/27 (51.9 %)1.16 (0.51–2.65)0.718
Total 205/398 (51.5 %)
Overall v2= 3.994;
p = 0.407
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measured BMIs. The sample was large ([5,000 respon-
dents). Migraine was diagnosed by physician interviewers
using a questionnaire based on the ICHD-II criteria.
Anthropometric measurements were performed by the
same interviewers, guaranteeing the accuracy of body
height and weight information. While information on
migraine severity and frequency depended, unavoidably,
on subjective self-reporting by respondents, disability was
estimated through the widely used MIDAS score [23].
Furthermore, information about a large number of potential
confounders was available, allowing us to make due
adjustments in detecting any association between BMI and
migraine.
Some limitations should also be considered. Despite our
ability to control for a large number of potential con-
founders, we could not know of other comorbidities,
including psychological, that might also be confounders,
and we cannot exclude the possible influence of these since
our study was observational. This study was also limited by
the inclusion of post-reproductive aged individuals in light
of the studies by Peterlin et al. [13], Vo et al. [15] and
Robberstad et al. [14]. In addition, our study was cross-
sectional, not allowing us to determine any time sequence
in the association between BMI and migraine. Otherwise, it
is worth noting that the observation can be biased just
because of the reduced sample size in the group of morbid
obesity, and this should be taken into consideration while
analyzing the results.
Although at present, there can be no definitive conclu-
sion about the relationship between migraine and obesity, it
is almost certain that the two are associated, in a probably
complex way. The reasons for inconsistency in findings are
not entirely clear. While we found, in the Chinese popu-
lation, that morbid but not lesser degrees of obesity is
associated with increased migraine prevalence but not
severity, frequency or disability, studies of other popula-
tions have found evidence that obesity is associated with
more frequent and severe migraine [16–18] rather than an
increased risk of having migraine. It may be that there are
differences based on the culture or ethnicity. Certainly, any
underlying mechanism linking migraine and obesity is not
evident. Further population studies are needed to sort this
out; whether or not a link exists is an important question
both for its public-health implications and for better
understanding the pathophysiology of these disorders.
Acknowledgments
Burden: the Global Campaign against Headache, and by the Chinese
Headache Society. Lifting The Burden is a UK-registered not-
for-profit NGO. The paper was written without financial support by
any pharmaceutical company or other agency. The authors are
grateful for the arduous work of the neurologists, including Hua Bai,
Min Chen, Xueying Guo, De’an Jiang, Weiqing Li, Jie Lin, Guohe
Liu, Ying Liu, Minfang Lou, Xinming Lou, Yunwen Lou, Haidong
This study was supported by Lifting The
Lv, Sha Ma, Haiyun Mei, Xia Shen, Jinping Sun, Ping Sun, Feng Tan,
Mingshan Tang, Weiwen Wang, Lianhong Xie, Xionggen Xie,
Jiangtao Xu, Jinsheng Yang, Wei Yang, Changjiang Yao, Lin Yin,
Tao Yu, Huiying Zhang, Jintao Zhang, Yusen Zhou, Jianguo Zhu and
Daliang Zou, and their teams, who took part in performing this
nationwide survey.
Conflict of interest
declare.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to
Open Access
Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, dis-
tribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author(s) and the source are credited.
This article is distributed under the terms of the
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