Suffering chronic migraines takes a huge toll on family life, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that more than two thirds of patients with chronic migraine feel their condition affects their sexual intimacy and that it makes their spouse's life difficult. Patients also report feeling guilty and worried about the effect their headaches have on their partner and children.
"Our research team believes it's very important to bring these data to light, to show that chronic migraine is a burdensome and difficult condition, not only for the people who live with it, but also for the people they love," said lead researcher and clinical psychologist, Dawn Buse, PhD, Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Montefiore Headache Center, Bronx, New York.
"We hope that these data will raise awareness among family members, coworkers, society, healthcare providers, insurers, and government agencies who fund research, so that the magnitude of the effects of chronic migraine is more fully understood."
Dr. Buse will present the research here at the American Headache Society (AHS) 56th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Pulsating Headaches
Chronic Migraine Epidemiology & Outcomes (CaMEO) was a prospective, Internet-based study. People with chronic migraine (experiencing 15 or more headache days a month) and their spouses and children completed questionnaires to provide data on the burden of migraine.
This first analysis included 994 patients with chronic migraine who were assessed by using the validated American Migraine Study/American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention screener, a modification of International Classification of Headache Disorders 3b. They therefore experienced headaches that were pulsating, were of moderate to severe pain intensity, and worsened with routine activity, accompanied by nausea, phonophobia, and photophobia.
The analysis showed that:
- 64.1% of respondents feel their headaches make their partners life difficult;
- 72.5% feel they would be better partners if they didn't have headache;
- 70.2% are easily angered or annoyed by their partners because of headache;
- 67.2% avoid sexual intimacy because of their headaches;
- 64.4% feel guilty about how their headaches affect their partner;
- 59.1% believe they would be better parents if they didn't have headaches;
- 20% missed planned family vacation within the previous year; and
- 53.6% had less enjoyment while on vacation because of headaches.
Compared with men, women, who made up 81.7% of the study sample, cancelled plans 23% less often in the previous month because of headache (relative risk [RR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61- 0.98; P = .03) and missed 49% fewer holiday/religious events (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32 - 0.80; P = .003) and 52% fewer weddings/important events (RR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.30 - 0.79; P = .004).
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