Chronic migraine significantly affects family relationships and activities in ways including canceled vacation plans and reduced quality time with partners and children, according to researchers.
Results of the Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes (CaMEO) study also revealed that patients with chronic migraine experience feelings of guilt, anger, and annoyance toward family members because of headache and avoid sexual intimacy because of headache.
CaMEO was a web-based study of 994 men and women with chronic migraine. Lead author Dawn C. Buse, PhD, and colleagues said the study’s purpose was to measure the perceived nature and extent of chronic migraine-related burden on family relationships and activities. Dr. Buse is Director of Behavioral Medicine at Montefiore Headache Center and Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in the Bronx, New York.
“This study highlights the significant impact of chronic migraine, not only on the person with migraine, but on the entire family,” said Dr. Buse. “Respondents reported missing both routine and special family events on a regular basis and feeling guilty and sad about how this affected their relationships with their spouses and children.”
Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) thought that they would be better spouses if they did not have chronic migraine. The majority of respondents (64%) felt guilty about being easily angered or annoyed by their partners because of headache, and 67% avoided sexual intimacy with their partners at times because of headache. The majority of respondents (59%) felt that they would be better parents if they did not have chronic migraine. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported that they became easily annoyed with their children because of headache. In addition, 54% of respondents reported that they had reduced participation or enjoyment on a family vacation because of headache in the past year, and 20% canceled or missed a family vacation altogether.
Women consistently reported lower percentage rates of absenteeism across many activities because of headaches than did men. “This may be due to differences in headache severity between genders; differential denominators, in that women may have more activities and responsibilities; or women may feel more obligated to keep commitments despite migraine occurrence,” the researchers said.
“Clearly, the effects of chronic migraine can be devastating and far-reaching. Chronic migraine can be a great burden, not only from the direct effects of the condition on the person with chronic migraine, but also the effects that it has on family members. The effect of chronic migraine on the family is not commonly discussed; however, people who live with chronic migraine may experience substantial emotional distress caused by feeling worried, guilty, and sad about how their condition affects the people they love, adding to the total burden,” said Dr. Buse.
The CaMEO study recruited individuals from a web-based panel, using quota sampling to complete a series of web-based surveys for more than one year. The data were used to characterize migraine and chronic migraine. The current analysis reflects data from respondents meeting study criteria for chronic migraine.