The relationship between lifestyle behaviors and tension-type headache and migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Despite the growing recognition of lifestyle factors as potential modifiable influencers of headache disorders, research on the association between lifestyle behaviors and migraine or tension-type headache (TTH) remains limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential association between lifestyle behaviors and these 2 headache disorders (migraine and TTH).

METHODS

A comprehensive database search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science up to May 2024 to identify observational studies. Relative risk (RR) values were extracted from the eligible studies, and pooled RRs were calculated through meta-analysis. Two independent investigators performed data screening to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data.

RESULTS

A total of 7 studies (32,197 participants) were included. The results showed no significant association between alcohol consumption and migraine (RR = 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.47-1.62), body mass index (BMI) and migraine (RR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.87-1.48), or smoking/physical activity/alcohol consumption and TTH (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.96-1.30; RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.70-1.20; RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.78-1.45, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Consistent with these findings, the present study concludes that no significant association was observed between lifestyle behaviors (alcohol consumption, BMI, smoking, physical activity) and the risk of migraine or TTH. Further studies are warranted to explore this association. However, only 7 studies were included in this analysis, so the conclusion requires further verification through additional high-quality research.