Measuring disability and quality of life in migraine

Abstract

Although eight out of ten people suffer from different types of headaches, the severity of their pain is often not communicated properly to their doctors. Research shows that when doctors understand exactly how headaches are affecting their patients, they are able to provide a better and fully successful treatment program. The magnitude of impact of migraine is generally measured through self-administered questionnaires. Two reliable questionnaires for measuring patients' disability and quality of life in migraine are the Migraine Disability Assessment Questionnaire (MIDAS) and the new Internet-based Headache Impact Test (HIT).