The Burden of Migraine on Quality of Life in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of comorbid migraine on quality of life (QOL) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).MethodsA total of 213 adult patients with CRS were recruited. All participants completed the 22‐item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22), from which total and validated nasal, ear/facial pain, sleep, and emotional subdomain scores were calculated, and the 5‐dimension EuroQol general health questionnaire (EQ‐5D), from which the visual analogue scale (VAS) and health utility value (HUV) were calculated. The presence of comorbid migraine was determined by a score of ≥4 on the 5‐item Migraine Screen Questionnaire (MS‐Q).ResultsOf the participants, 36.2% were screened positive for having comorbid migraine. The mean SNOT‐22 score was 64.9 (SD: 18.7) in participants with migraine and 41.5 (SD: 21.1) in participants without migraine (p < 0.001). The mean EQ‐5D VAS and HUV were 60.2 (SD: 21.9) and 0.69 (SD: 0.18), respectively, in participants with migraine and 71.4 (SD: 19.4) and 0.84 (SD: 0.13), respectively, in participants without migraine (p < 0.001 for both). Higher ear/facial pain (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.10–1.36, p < 0.001) and sleep (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04–1.18, p = 0.002) SNOT‐22 subdomain scores were positively associated with migraine. The SNOT‐22 item scores related to dizziness, reduced concentration, and facial pain, in descending order, were most associated with migraine. The presence of nasal polyps (OR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.07 ‐ 0.80, p = 0.020) was negatively associated with migraine.ConclusionComorbid migraine may be relatively common amongst CRS patients, and its presence is associated with significantly worse QOL. Dizziness as a symptom in CRS patients may be particularly indicative of migraine.Level of Evidence3 Laryngoscope, 133:3279–3284, 2023