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Gender differences in the association between weight-adjusted waist index and migraine: A cross-sectional study

Shulong Liu, Jiangting Li, Guobo Xie

PLoS ONE, 2025

9,688 participants

Abstract

Objective This study examines how weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) correlates with the occurrence of migraine in U.S. adults. Background Being overweight significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing migraines; nonetheless, conventional metrics like waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) might not completely capture the level of migraine risk tied to obesity. WWI integrates the strengths of WC while minimizing its correlation with BMI, which might make it a more accurate indicator of central obesity-related migraine susceptibility. Methods This study performed a cross-sectional analysis using data from 9,688 participants obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), covering the years 1999–2004. Migraine occurrence was evaluated through questionnaires, and participants’ WWI was computed. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between WWI and migraines. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were applied to evaluate the dose-response relationship between WWI and migraines. Furthermore, interaction tests and subgroup analyses were executed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, paired with DeLong et al.’s test, was employed to compare the predictive power of WWI, BMI, and WC for migraines. Results The overall prevalence of migraines was found to be 21.50% (weighted population: 31,888,075 out of 148,278,824). In Model 3, the link between WWI and migraines in women showed no…

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