Sociodemographic characteristics of a cohort of patients with chronic migraine from a health district in Asturias.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic migraine (CM), with or without medication overuse, is a common condition in the general population. It has traditionally been assumed that suffering CM has an impact on a patient's socio-occupational and educational level. Our goal was to analyse these characteristics in a cohort of patients with CM and compare them to the general population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used a telephone interview and an ad hoc questionnaire to record and analyse the sociodemographic characteristics of 150 patients with a diagnosis of CM according to the criteria of the International Headache Classification. Results were compared to those obtained by the Third Health Survey of Asturias, conducted in 2012. RESULTS: Of the 150 patients, 142 were women (95%). Married patients accounted for 59.3% of the total interviewees, while 22% were single, 12.6% divorced, and 6% were widowed. Regarding educational level, we found that 73% of our patients had completed secondary or higher education and 25% had completed only primary education. Sixty per cent of these patients are occupationally active, while the rest are not actively employed. Overall, these figures do not differ from those published by the Third Health Survey of Asturias. DISCUSSION: The classic idea that CM has a negative impact on patients' educational, personal, and occupational situations was not confirmed in our series. In fact, most patients with CM reported a medium-high educational level and a good socio-occupational status. However, since our series includes only CM patients attended in a specialist clinic, our results are not necessarily applicable to all patients with CM.

Pain catastrophising in a population of patients with migraine. / Pensamiento catastrófico ante el dolor: presencia en una población de migrañosos.

INTRODUCTION: Catastrophic thought refers to a negative cognitive and emotional response to pain, and is thought to contribute to pain chronification. We aimed to evaluate pain catastrophising PC in a population of patients with migraine. METHODS: We collected sociodemographic data and clinical data on migraine from patients attended at a tertiary hospital headache unit between January and June 2015. PC was measured with the Spanish-language version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). We compared presence of PC in patients with episodic and chronic migraine, and its correlation with clinical impact (measured by the Headache Impact Test-6 [HIT-6] scale), comorbid depression and anxiety (measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), and the presence of medication overuse. RESULTS: The study included 96 patients (16 men and 80 women); 67 (69.8%) were diagnosed with chronic migraine and 29 (30.2%) with episodic migraine. Migraine impact was at least moderate (HIT-6≥56) in 85.4% of cases, and 24% exceeded the cut-off point for anxiety and 9.4% for depression. A total of 34.4% presented PC. Patients with chronic migraine scored higher than those with episodic symptoms on the HADS for anxiety (P<.001) and depression (P<.001) and on the HIT-6 (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: PC is common among patients with migraine. It is related to migraine severity and to comorbid anxiety and depression. PC does not appear to increase the likelihood of migraine chronification or medication overuse.