QUALITY-OF-LIFE AND WELL-BEING OF HEADACHE PATIENTS - MEASUREMENT BY THE MEDICAL OUTCOMES STUDY INSTRUMENT

Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of the Medical Outco mes Study (MOS) Short Form Health Survey as an indicator for quality o f life in patients with chronic headaches. Design: Patient interview s urvey. Setting: A headache clinic within a multi-specialty group pract ice. Patients: 208 consecutive patients seeking evaluation of headache at the above site. Measurements: All six health components of the MOS Short Form Health Survey were included in the study. Main results: Th e MOS Short Form Health Survey was both reliable and valid in the grou p of patients with headache. Patients with headache had significantly worse physical, social, and role functioning, and worse mental health than did patients with chronic diseases (P<0.0001). The functioning as sociated with chronic headaches was worse than that associated with ma jor chronic medical conditions such as arthritis and diabetes, and was comparable to the level of functioning associated with recent myocard ial infarction or congestive heart failure. Conclusions: The MOS surve y is a reliable measure of quality of life for patients with chronic h eadaches. Chronic headache disorders cause significantly more morbidit y and impairment of function than has previously been appreciated.