A study have found out that a person being underweight or overweight has a higher risk of a migraine than those people with normal weight. Yet, the study also discovered that migraines not only has higher risks with the aforementioned but with women and young people as well.
According to Medical News Today, a migraine is a common head disorder that occurs in half of the world’s adult population and 12 percent of U.S. adults. It was also identified that a migraine is accompanied by symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. A migraine was also identified to occur in varying intensities like moderate to very painful.
The study lead by Dr. B. Lee Peterlin of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her group of researchers were mentioned to analyze 12 studies, totaling to 290,000 participants. The team then found out that obese people have a 27 percent higher risk of migraine while underweight people has 13 percent higher risk compared to normal weight people.
The researchers then identified that obese people have a BMI of 30 or higher while underweight people has less than 18.5. The investigation then made Dr. Peterlin identify that age and sex were key variables in the relation between BMI and migraines. She also identified that aside from overweight and underweight people, migraine risks appear high in women and young people under the age of 55 as well per News Max.
Yet amid that statement, Peterlin stated that they couldn’t find the clear causal relations with BMI and migraines. “Adipose tissue, or fatty tissue, secretes a wide range of molecules that could play a role in developing or triggering migraine,” she stated.
“It is also possible that other factors such as changes in physical activity, medications, or other conditions such as depression play a role in the relationship between migraine and body composition,” written in the study published in the journal of American Academy of Neurology.
Nonetheless, authors of the study along with Peterlin concluded that they need further research to know whether decreasing and increasing weight would aid overweight and underweight people in lowering their migraine risks.
