Quality of life in patients with migraine

Abstract

Aim: To assess the quality of life in adult patients with migraine. Methods: The sample consisted of 194 respondents. The Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ version 2.1) was used for data collection. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. Results: The sample consisted of 92.3% women and 7.7% men with a mean age of 42.085 ± 10.48 years. The median duration of migraine was 15.70 ± 10.64 years. The majority were those with secondary education (56.2%) and those doing mental work (60.8%). According to the average score achieved in the MSQ version 2.1, patients' quality of life was at average level (M = 50.1). Our results showed that, longer duration (p = 0.012), and high frequency of migraine attacks per month (p < 0.001) and per year (p < 0.001) reduced the quality of life. Meanwhile, the quality of life increased with increasing education. Finally, sex (p = 0.466), occupation (p = 0.079) and migraine medication use (p = 0.052) did not prove to be significant variables in relation to the quality of life. Conclusion: Understanding the quality of life of adult patients with migraine using the MSQ version 2.1 is important for the effective management of this disease. Nurses and physicians should routinely evaluate the quality of life of patients with severe chronic neurological disease as a complementary assessment of patients with migraine.