Migraine-Related Stigma Impacts Quality of Life: Daily Dose

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On January 25, 2024, we reported on findings from a study published in Neurology that examined migraine-related stigma and its relationship to disability, interictal burden, and quality of life.

The study

The data came from the OVERCOME study, an observational population-based study of 59 001 adults with migraine.

Researchers used the 12-item Migraine-Related Stigma (MiRS) questionnaire to assess the frequency of migraine-related stigma. It contained 2 factors: feeling that others viewed migraine as being used for Secondary Gain (8 items; α = 0.92) and feeling that others were Minimizing disease Burden (4 items, α = 0.86). Because both MiRS-Secondary Gain scores (range 0–32) and MiRS-Minimizing Burden (range 0–16) had 0-inflated distributions, scores were categorized by how often the respondent experienced each aspect of migraine-related stigma.

Participants were categorized as either (1) MiRS-Both (Secondary Gain and Minimizing Burden often/very often; (2) MiRS-SG (Secondary Gain often/very often); (3) MiRS-MB (Minimizing Burden often/very often); (4) MiRS-Rarely/Sometimes; (5) MiRS-Never. The current analyses focused on pooled data from baseline surveys conducted in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

The findings

In the sample, 31.7% of study participants reported experiencing MiRS-Secondary Gain and/or MiRS-Minimizing Burden often/very often. Experience of at least 1 form of migraine-related stigma was found in 25.4% of those with 0-3 monthly headache days and 47.5% of those with at least 15 monthly headache days.

Between the groups, those who reported MiRS-MB, MiRS-SG, or MiRS-Both often/very often had more severe migraine-related disability (44.2% vs 9.9%; standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.84), as demonstrated by results of the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), and higher interictal burden (62.0% vs 11.2%; SMD, 1.24), as explained on Migraine Interictal Burden Scale (MIBS).

Authors' comment

"Scientific, clinical, and public health efforts to better understand and address migraine-related stigma are warranted. In particular, clarifying the mechanisms that link stigma to health outcomes could set the stage for interventions that may reduce the burdens of migraine across the full spectrum of headache frequency."

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