The unique role of stigma in migraine-related disability and quality of life

Abstract

•Background: Stigma is increasingly recognized as an important social feature of living with migraine. Methods: Adults with migraine recruited from neurology offices completed the validated Stigma Scale for Chronic Illnesses 8‐item version (SSCI‐8); two outcome measures (the Migraine Disability Assessment [MIDAS] and the Migraine‐Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire v 2.1 [MSQ]); and measures of allodynia (Allodynia Symptom Checklist [ASC‐12]), pain cognition (Pain Catastrophizing Scale [PCS]), and psychiatric symptoms (Patient Reported Measurement Information System Anxiety [PROMIS‐A] and Depression [PROMIS‐D]). Pearson and Spearman correlations evaluated bivariate relationships, and linear (MSQ) and logistic (MIDAS Severe Disability, scores ≥21) regressions evaluated the unique variance associated with SSCI‐8 beyond other study variables. Conditional process analysis evaluated mediation hypotheses between study variables. Results: Participants (n = 121) reported levels of stigma on par with other chronic illnesses (SSCI‐8 M = 53.0, standard deviation [SD] = 7.8), with 25/127 (19.6%) reporting clinically significant levels of stigma (SSCI‐8 T‐score ≥ 60). Higher SSCI‐8 scores were associated with higher monthly headache day frequency (r = 0.35), MIDAS (ρ = 0.41), ASC‐12 (r = 0.24, p < 0.01), PCS (r = 0.46), both PROMIS‐A (r = 0.43) and D (r = 0.42), and lower MSQ subscale scores (Role Restriction r = −0.50; Role Prevention r = −0.48; Emotion Function r = −0.50), all ps <0.001 unless otherwise noted. The SSCI‐8 contributed significantly beyond migraine symptoms and other psychological factors for MSQ Emotion Function (5% unique variance) and MIDAS Severe Disability (6% of unique variance). The SSCI‐8 mediated relationships between headache frequency and the MSQ subscales and MIDAS Severe Disability. The PCS mediated relationships between the SSCI‐8 and MSQ subscales. The PROMIS‐D mediated relationships between the SSCI‐8 and MSQ Role Restriction and MSQ Role Prevention. Conclusions: Migraine stigma has medium to large associations with migraine outcomes and psychiatric symptoms and is independently associated with migraine disability and emotion‐related quality of life. Migraine stigma is an important contributor to the relationship between headache frequency and migraine outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Headache: The Journal of Head & Face Pain is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)