Survey: Migraine anxiety affects quality of life

People who get migraines experience a decreased quality of life - not solely from their migraines, but also from the fear of future migraines, according to the "Life Impact Survey" of almost 4,000 headache sufferers.

The survey, which was developed in consultation with the National Headache Foundation, was launched in 1999 and data were collected over the next year to evaluate quality-of-life issues facing headache and migraine sufferers, including frequency of headaches, severity of pain and resulting disability.

Survey results

According to the survey:

•Â Nearly 40% of respondents said they felt anxious or worried about having another severe headache "often" or "all the time." This number rises to 74% when people who said they were "sometimes" anxious or worried about future severe headaches are included.

•Â When asked how much this anxiety and worry bothered them, 47.2% of survey respondents said "a lot" or "a great deal."

•Â Half of the respondents indicated that they felt that family and social activities were limited because of headaches either "often" or "all the time," and another 36% replied that this problem occurred "sometimes."

•Â Three-quarters of respondents replied "yes" or "sometimes" when asked whether they were less likely to socialize because of headaches and whether headaches place stress on relationships with family or friends.

•Â Close to 95% of respondents replied "yes" or "sometimes" when asked whether they avoid being around people when they have a headache. PR