A comparative study of psychiatric comorbidity, quality of life and disability in patients with migraine and tension type headache

Objectives: To compare psychiatric co-morbidity, quality of life and disability between patients of migraine and tension type headache and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: Study subjects included 40 consecutive adult patients each with migraine and tension type of headache (TTH) of either gender fulfilling International Headache Society-II criteria and suffering for 2 years They were recruited from a headache clinic in a tertiary care teaching hospital and were assessed on Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) Hindi version and the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6). Age and sex matched 40 healthy controls were assessed on MINI and WHOQOL-BREF. The three groups were compared for statistical significance on various scales. Results: Depression emerged as the most prevalent psychiatric disorder in both the headache groups. There was significant impairment in quality of life on all domains along with functional disability in subjects with both types of headache. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbidity, especially depression is common in patients with migraines and tension type headache. Quality of life and functional ability are significantly impaired in these patients. The clinician should remain aware of consequences of prolonged headache, and should provide timely intervention.