How well do headache patients remember? A comparison of self-report measures of headache frequency and severity in patients with migraine.
OBJECTIVE
To compare patient recall of migraine headache frequency and severity over 4 weeks prior to a return visit as reported in an interval questionnaire vs a daily diary.


BACKGROUND
Many therapeutic decisions in the management of migraine patients are based on patient recall of response to treatment. As consistent completion of a daily headache diary is problematic, we have assessed the reliability of patient recall in a 1-time questionnaire.


METHODS
Headache frequency and average severity (0 to 3-point scale) were reported in an interval questionnaire by 209 patients who had also maintained a daily diary over the same 4-week period.


RESULTS
Headache frequency over the previous 4 weeks as reported in interval questionnaires (14.7) was not different from that documented in diaries (15.1), P = .056. However, reported average headache severity on a 0 to 3 scale as reported in the questionnaire (1.84) was worse than that documented in the diaries (1.63), P < .001.


CONCLUSIONS
In the management of individual patients, the daily diary is still preferable when available. Aggregate assessment of headache frequency in groups of patients based on recall of the prior 4 weeks is equally as reliable as a diary. Headache severity reported in questionnaires tends to be greater than that documented in daily diaries and may be less reliable.
McKenzie
Jeff A
JA
College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Cutrer
F Michael
FM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult