Development and validation of a Japanese language questionnaire to screen for tension-type headaches and migraines

Abstract

Background Tension-type headaches and migraines are prevalent conditions; however, no reliable biological markers have been identified for screening. A validated screening tool for epidemiological studies would aid in carrying out large-scale epidemiological studies. Therefore, there is a need to develop a screening tool in the Japanese language based on the International Classification of Headache Criteria, which can be used in epidemiological studies. In this study, we aimed to develop a Japanese-language tool that can be used to screen patients for migraine, tension-type headaches, and mixed migraine/tension-type headaches. Consequently, our objective was to develop a questionnaire based on the 3rd edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) using screening items for each type of headache and to examine its validity. Methods The questionnaire consisted of 29 questions based on the ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria. It comprised 10 screening items for migraine, eight for tension-type headache, and five for mixed migraine/tension-type headache. The screening results of the questionnaire were compared with the diagnoses of three neurologists, which were used as the gold standard reference. Results The study population comprised 69 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 55.0 ± 18.7 years) aged 19–89 years who were visiting the Tominaga Hospital of the Kotobukai Social Medical Corporation. According to the neurologists’ diagnoses, twenty-two patients had migraine, 30 had tension-type headaches, and 17 had mixed migraine/tension-type headaches. The sensitivity and specificity were as follows: migraine, 72.7% and 86.7%; tension-type headache, 50.0% and 86.4%; and mixed migraine/tension-type headache, 70.6% and 67.3%, respectively. Conclusions The screening tool developed in this study has sufficient validity except for tension-type headache. The questionnaire developed in this study is a rapid and sensitive tool for determining migraine, tension-type headache, and mixed migraine/tension-type headache in persons with headache symptoms.