Health-related quality of life among Canadians with migraine

P. Brna, K. Gordon, J. Dooley

The objective was to determine the impact of migraine on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Canadians. Analysis was based on the public use microdata set of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), limited to those aged > or = 15 residing in Manitoba. HRQOL was measured using the SF-36 survey, which covers 8 health concepts. Multivariate linear regression was used to model each SF-36 scale against age, gender, education, income, migraine status and presence of mood or anxiety disorders. Of the 7236 CCHS respondents, 9.7% reported a diagnosis of migraine. Reported migraine predicted statistically significant (p<0.0001) lower HRQOL in all SF-36 domains with profound impairment of physical role, bodily pain and general health. Those reporting a mood disorder scored significantly lower in all domains with pronounced effects on emotional role, social functioning and general health. Reported anxiety disorder was associated with lower HRQOL in 6/8 domains. Canadians with migraine report significant impairment in HRQOL compared to the general population, independent of psychiatric morbidity.