Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate thyroid function in terms of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH, also known as thyrotropin), 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3), and 3,5,3',5'-tetraiodo-L-thyronine (T4, also known as thyroxine) levels in migraineurs in comparison with non-migraineurs using a systematic review of literature and a meta-analysis.
Methods: This is a systematic review of case-control studies on serum TSH, T3, and T4 concentrations of migraineurs in comparison with non-migraineurs. After extracting the data from the finally included studies, the weighted overall standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated.
Results: The weighted overall SMD for the impact of TSH, T3, and T4 blood levels for migraineurs in comparison with non-migraineurs was as follows: 0.804 (95% CI, 0.045-1.564), - 0.267 (95% CI, - 0.660-0.125), 0.093 (95% CI, - 0.077-0.263), respectively. It is noteworthy that only the p value for the significance of the overall SMD for serum TSH level was statistically significant (p = 0.038), as examined by the z-test.
Conclusions: The results of the current study point to an association between migraine pathogenesis and changing TSH levels in comparison with those of controls.
Keywords: Migraine; T3; T4; TSH; Thyroid function.