Table 1.
Results of pediatric studies evaluating the association between obesity and headache
| Reference | Clinical study design | Number of patients | Age (average age or range) | Sex | Sample population | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinhas et al. Obesity 2008 |
Prospective cross-sectional multicenter study | 273 | 13.3 (9–17) | 61% F | BMI ≥5th and ≤85th : 116 BMI ≥85th and ≤95th:45 BMI ≥ 95th: 112 Total Headache (HA) participants: 39 |
The OR of headaches was 4-fold increase in girls with BMI ≥95th ( OR 3.93; CI:1.28-12.1). EM was reported in 8.9% of patients with BMI ≥ 95th ; in 4.4% of patients with BMI ≥ 85th ; in 2.5% of patients with BMI ≤ 85th |
| Kinik et al Cephalalgia 2010 |
Retrospective cross sectional study | 124 | 12.9 (4–17) | 62% F | Rel BMI < 110: 80a
Rel BMI ≥ 110 and ≤120: 20 Rel BMI ≥120: 22 Episodic Migraine (EM) with aura: 88 EM without aura 36 |
Patients with a BMI ≥ 120 : 5.3 ± 2.6 HA/month. Patients with a BMI ≥110 and ≤ 120 : 4.4 ± 2.4 HA/mo. Patients with BMI ≤ 110: 3.6 ± 2.2 HA/mo (P = 0.018). |
| Robberstad et al Neurology 2010 |
Prospective, cross- sectional study | 5847 | (13–18) | 52% F | Overweight and obeseb: 891 Total HA participants: 1591 |
The OR of recurrent HA, migraine and Tension Type Headache (TTH) is respectively 40% greater (OR 1.4, CI: 1.2–1.6, P < 0.0001), 60% greater (OR 1.6, CI: 1.4–2.2, P < 0.0001) and 40% greater (OR 1.4, CI:1.1–1.6, P < 0.0001) in overweight and obese compared with normal weight |
| Ravid et al Headache 2013 |
Retrospective, cross sectional study | 181 | 10.1 (4–18) | 56% F | BMI ≥ 5th – <85th%: 109 BMI ≥ 85th – <95th%: 48 BMI ≥ 95th%: 24 |
60% of patients with BMI ≥85th– <95th% and 62.5% of patients with BMI ≥ 95th% had migraines compared with 34% of those with BMI ≥ 5th% – <85th%, (P = 0 .01). The odds of EM /Chronic Migraine (CM) was over 2 fold greater in those with BMI ≥ 85th – <95th% (OR 2.4, CI: 1.2–4.7) compared with normal-weight. The odds of EM/CM was 3–5 fold greater in females overweight (OR 3.01, CI: 1.24–7.3) or obese (OR 4.93, CI: 1.46–8.61). |
| Pakalnis and Kring J Child Neurol. 2012 |
Retrospective, cross-sectional study | 925 | 12.5 (5–17) | 58% F | BMI ≥ 5th – <85th%: 610 BMI ≥ 85th – <95th%: 130 BMI ≥ 95th%: 185 Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) : 63 Chronic Migraine (CM): 37 Chronic Tension Type Headache(CTTH) : 22 Unknown: 4 |
22% (95% CI: 17.1–27.4) of CDH patients had BMI ≥ 95th% compared with unidentified historical norms (16.3%). 26%(95% CI: 16.5–37.6) of those with chronic or CTTH had BMI ≥ 95th% compared with unidentified historical norms (16%). |
aRel BMI calculated with following formula: (participants BMI) × 100/(50th percentile BMI for participant’s age and sex)
bBased on International Obesity Task Force, 2000, Cole TJ et al. establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: International survey. BMJ 2000;320:1240–43. Overweight is defined as the BMI with respect to age and sex that correlates to BMI of 25 at 18 y (adult cutoff in widest use for overweight). Obesity is defined as the BMI with respect to age and sex that correlates to BMI of 30 at 18-y-old (adult cut-off in widest use for obesity)