Migraine: It's a Family Burden

Results from one module of the CaMEO (Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes) study show the patient with chronic migraine (CM) is not the only one who suffers.

In a report presented April 22 during a poster session at the 2015 American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Washington, DC, Dawn Buse, PhD, associate professor of neurology and a neurologist at the Montefiore Headache Center in the Bronx, NY said CM “adversely affects family activities and relationships.”

With colleagues in Arizona and California, Buse surveyed 994 patients to evaluate the extent, nature and perception of the burden of migraines on both the patients and their loved ones. It was a web-based survey.

The team found that patients reported an average of 6.9 days when then reduced their participation in family activities, 6.6 days when their enjoyment of quality time with partners was reduced, 4.3 days when they had cancelled family plans within the month preceding the time they were surveyed.

Most of the patients reported that their headaches made them easily annoyed with their partner (70.2%) and children (60.2%.)

Asked to look back a full year, 20% said they had canceled a family vacation and 53.6% said they did not enjoy their vacations as much as they should have due to their migraines.

Asked whether they would be better partners without their headaches, 72.5% said they would and 59.1% said they would be better parents.

“Chronic migraine places a significant burden on both [patients] and their family members,” the researchers concluded.