THE IMPACT OF MIGRAINE ON HEALTH-STATUS

Problems.-What is the effect of migraine on health status, defined as the patient's physical, psychological, and social functioning? And, su ppose that the health status of migraine sufferers appears to be impai red, to what extent is this a consequence of migraine-associated comor bidity rather than of migraine itself) Methods.-A group of 846 migrain eurs, selected from the general population following IHS criteria, and ii control group were surveyed with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-ite m Short-Form Health Survey, Nottingham Health Profile, EuroQol instrum ent, and the COOP/WONCA charts. Questions on demographic characteristi cs and comorbidity were included. Results.-The health status of migrai neurs appeared to be significantly impaired in comparison to the contr ol group. Because statistical significance is distinct from relevance, effect size estimators were employed. Although the direction of the d ifferences indicated consistently a worse health status of the migrain eurs, regardless of the instrument used, the sizes of the differences were small to medium. Self-reported comorbidity, especially depression , was more prevalent in the migraine group. However, this offered only a partial explanation for the impaired health status of the migraine group. Conclusions.-Migraine has an independent moderately deteriorati ng effect on the daily functioning of individuals.