Comparison of the Level of Depression and Disability between the Treated and Untreated Migraineurs

Abstract

Introduction: Migraine is a neurologic problem characterized by severe headache and nausea. This study aimed to compare the level of depression and disability between treated and untreated migraineurs.Methods: The present study was designed as a cross-sectional study conducted on patients with migraine headaches who were referred to the outpatient clinic of Emam Reza and selected through purposive sampling to participate in the study for three months from April to July in 2017. The eligible patients referred to our clinic were divided into two study groups. One group included the migraineurs who received the standard treatment for migraine for at least one month, whereas the migraineurs in the second group didn’t receive standard treatment while they received analgesic agents as pain killers. After an inclusive examination by a neurologist, the participants were asked to fill out the valid and reliable Persian versions of BDI and MIDAS to assess the level of depression and disability.Result: Overall, the authors had a total of 283 patients with migraine headaches. We found that the MIDAS score in the treated group was significantly lower than the untreated group (7.1±3.2, 14.3±10.9, respectively, P=0.001). In addition, the mean BDI score in the treated group was 9.6±4.6, whereas it was 14.3±10.9 in the untreated group (P=0.004).Conclusion: is the study showed that subjects with untreated migraine are more likely to report depression and anxiety than patients with treated migraine.

Keywords

• anxiety
• depression
• headache
• migraine