The Impact of Migraine on Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

Our study found that comorbidity of migraine in patients with MDD was associated with more anxiety and physical symptoms. Headache should not be considered as only a somatic symptom of depression, but should be treated as an important comorbid disorder because it might exacerbate or interact with depression during a depressive episode.

Precipitating or aggravating factors for headache in patients with major depressive disorder

“…The 21 items were selected from common PAFs for headache reported by previous studies [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and by subjects in our first study [8,9]. Every item was divided into four levels according to their impact degree on headache: the factor "did not," "occasionally," "often," or "most of the time" precipitating or aggravating headache.…”

“…Similarly, headache, especially migraine, can cause negative impacts on patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD patients with migraine have more depressive episodes, irritability, anxiety, and somatic symptoms and a poorer quality of life, compared to those without migraine [8][9][10][11].…”

“…Depression, anxiety, and headache are closely interrelated [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Depression and anxiety can worsen the prognosis of headache [1,2], increase headache frequency [3], raise the medical cost of headache treatment [4], and cause more somatic discomfort for headache patients [5][6][7].…”

“…The prevention of headache is important for patients with MDD during a major depressive episode (MDE) for several reasons: (1) headache is one of the most troublesome pains in psychiatric patients with MDD since at least 60% of psychiatric patients with MDD suffer from headache during a MDE [8,12,13]; (2) headache is the most common chronic pain among subjects with MDD in a general population study [14]; (3) headache is correlated with several somatic discomforts [6,7], which are also common symptoms during a MDE [13]. Therefore, headache prevention might ameliorate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms among patients with MDD.…”

Neurologic and Psychiatric Comorbidity in Migraine Patients

“…Daha önce yapı-lan araştırmalarla uyumlu olarak depresyon ve/veya anksiyete skorları migren olguları lehine anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek saptanmıştır. [29][30][31][32] Çalışma-mızda obsesif kompulsif belirtileri taramak amacıyla kullanılan MOKSL puan ortalaması, migrenlilerde kontrol grubundakin oranla daha yüksek olmasına rağmen, bu fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Literatüre baktığımızda, migren ve OKB birlikteliğine dair bilgiler sınırlıdır.…”