MEASURING THE FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND WELL-BEING OF PATIENTS WITH MIGRAINE HEADACHE

Objective: Compare adult migraineurs' health related quality of life t o adults in the general U.S. Population reporting no chronic condition s, and to samples of patients with other chronic conditions. Methods: Subjects (n=845) were surveyed 2-6 months after participation in a pla cebo-controlled clinical trial and asked to complete a questionnaire i ncluding the SF-36 Health Survey, a migraine severity measurement scal e and demographics. Results were adjusted for severity of illness and comorbidities. Scores were compared with responses to the same survey by the U.S. sample and by patients with other chronic conditions. Resu lts: Response rate was 67%. After adjustment for comorbid conditions, SF-36 scale scores were significantly (P 0.001) lower in migraineurs, relative to age and sex-adjusted norms for the U.S. sample with no chr onic conditions. Some health dimensions were more affected by migraine than other chronic conditions, while other dimensions were less affec ted by migraine. Measures of bodily pain, role disability due to physi cal health and social functioning discriminated best between migraineu rs, the U.S. sample, and patients with other chronic conditions. Patie nts reporting moderate, severe and very severe migraines scored signif icantly (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.001) lower on five of the eight SF- 36 scales than the U.S. sample. Conclusions: Migraine has a unique, si gnificant quality of life burden.