Impact of Migraine on Family Members – A Cross-sectional Study in Southern Part of India

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a disabling primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of headache. Migraine not only imposes a burden on the sufferer but also imposes a burden on their family members too. A holistic approach is more essential in the management of migraine and family members should also be included in the management of migraine. There are no published studies done in India so far to look for the impact of migraine on partners and adolescent children (IMPAC). This pilot study was done to assess the IMPAC. Objective: The objective of the study was to study the IMPAC. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 130 chronic migraine patients were observed in a row during 9 months. The impact of migraine on family members as well as migraine disability and Migraine-specific Quality of Life (MSQoL) was evaluated using validated questionnaires. Results: One hundred and thirty chronic migraine patients were studied as part of this study. The mean age of the study population was 34.43 ± 9.002 years, and two-third of the participants were female. The majority of the participants had a moderate-to-severe disability due to migraine and had negatively impacted their MSQoL. The impact of migraine on family members was moderate-to-severe grade in most of the participants and affected their family life negatively both with children and spouses. The males were more significantly affected than females in terms of MSQoL, anxiety, depression, and also on migraine’s impact on family members. Conclusion: Migraine not only affects the sufferers, it also significantly affects their family members.