Assessing migraine disability by diary-based measurement: relationship to the characteristics of individual headache attacks

Background and purpose: Information on headache-related disability helps clinicians create the optimal treatment plan for migraine sufferers. The estimation of disability must be determined by gathering the individual effects of multiple headache attacks within a given period of time. This study was aimed to examine migraine-related disability from diary-based assessment and to determine which elements of the headache characteristics are associated with disability. Methods: Ninety-two migraine patients were enrolled and contributed data on a total of 422 diary days of headache attacks. Each diary booklet was comprised of questions on headache features and disability comprising five items that originated from Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS). Results: The average days recorded with disability for one or more of the three aspects of activities per headache attack was 0.55. Amongst the headache variables, pain intensity, nausea/vomiting, photophobia, type of abortive treatment and the employment status were significantly correlated with disability. On regression analysis, pain intensity, nausea/vomiting and employed work status were identified as significant predicting factors for migraine-related disability. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that a considerable amount of disability could occur during migraine attack and there are specified elements that act on the development of disability.