title: Quality of life and psychiatric co‑morbidity in Indian migraine patients: a headache clinic sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a lack of data from India on the impact of migraine on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the extent of psychiatric co-morbidities in migraine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of the study were to quantify the impairment in HRQoL in migraine patients compared to healthy controls, to compare the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms in these groups, and to identify patient and headache characteristics that may predict health-related quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed 71 consecutive newly diagnosed migraine patients seen in the headache clinic of a tertiary referral center between September and December 2008. Age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (n = 71) were used as controls. Short Form-36, Migraine Disability Assessment Score, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered. Predictors of HRQoL were identified using regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Migraineurs were significantly impaired in all subscales of the SF-36 compared to controls, with greatest impairments in role physical, general health, and role emotional subscales. Prevalence of clinically significant anxiety (48%) and depressive (41%) symptoms in patients was higher than in healthy controls. Female gender, headache-related disability, and severity of anxiety predicted worse Physical Component Summary scores, while severity of both anxiety and depressive symptoms predicted worse Mental Component Summary scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HRQoL is significantly reduced in Indian migraine patients compared to healthy controls. Incidence of clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms is also much higher in these patients. These findings corroborate well with studies from other parts of the world and suggest that cultural differences do not significantly alter the subjective impact of migraine on quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kartavya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Remanan
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000196:embryology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult