ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) measures the impact headaches in a 1-month period. We validated the Persian translation of HIT-6, compared the HIT-6 psychometric analysis between migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) patients, and evaluated the capability of HIT-6 to differentiate between TTH, chronic migraine, and episodic migraine. METHODS: Qualified participants, including 274 patients diagnosed with migraine or TTH, were required to complete HIT-6, SF-36v2, and a symptoms questionnaire on their first visit. At 3 and 8 weeks from first visit, participants completed HIT-6. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and test-retest reproducibility (Pearson's correlation coefficient) were used to assess reliability. Convergent validity was also assessed. RESULTS: Tension-type headache, episodic, and chronic migraines included 24.5%, 61.9%, and 13.6% of the participants, respectively. Internal consistency among all patients, TTH, and migraine in the first visit were 0.74, 0.77, and 0.73, respectively. Test-retest reliability for HIT-6 between visit 1 and 2 showed a moderate level of correlation (r = 0.50). Convergent validity and also item total correlation were acceptable. There was no significant difference in HIT-6 total score between TTH and migraine. CONCLUSION: Persian HIT-6 is a valid and reliable questionnaire for the evaluation of headache. However, it cannot differentiate between chronic migraine, episodic migraine, and TTH in Iranian population.
Subject(s)
Health Surveys/standards , Migraine Disorders/diagnosis , Pain Measurement/standards , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Tension-Type Headache/diagnosis , Adult , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Health Surveys/methods , Humans , Iran/ethnology , Male , Migraine Disorders/ethnology , Pain Measurement/methods , Psychometrics/methods , Psychometrics/standards , Reproducibility of Results , Tension-Type Headache/ethnology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effects of chronic valproic acid administration on bone health have been a matter of concern and controversy. In this study, the bone status following valproate intake was assessed by using several bone-related biochemical markers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, 62 epileptic patients and 40 age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled. The patients had been under chronic valproate therapy (758 ± 29 mg/day) for at least the past 6 months, without any vitamin D/or calcium supplementation. Serum markers of bone turnover (carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase [BALP]), calcium, phosphorus, total alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels were measured in both groups. RESULTS: The markers of bone turnover as well as other measured bone biochemical parameters did not statistically differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Valproate therapy at the mentioned doses does not seem to change bone turnover in adult epileptic patients.