This article is part of the supplement: Abstract Book of The European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress

Open Access Poster presentation

Temperament and character profiles of patients with chronic migraine and medication-overuse headache

Y Watanabe*, H Tateno and K Hirata

  • * Corresponding author: Y Watanabe

Author Affiliations

Dokkyo Medical University, Japan

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The Journal of Headache and Pain 2013, $article.volume.volumeNumber(Suppl 1):P178 doi:10.1186/1129-2377-1-S1-P178


The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.thejournalofheadacheandpain.com/content/1/S1/P178


Published:21 February 2013

© 2013 Watanabe et al; licensee Springer.

Background and purpose

The frequency of psychiatric co-morbidity or psychological distress has been reported to be high among patients with chronic migraine (CM) and medication-overuse headache (MOH). However, the personality profile of such patients is unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the personality profile of a sample of Japanese patients with migraine by using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI).

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study that included 138 adult patients with migraine. In total, 100 age-, sex-, and educational level-matched healthy subjects were selected as a control group. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the second edition of the International Headache Classification: those with episodic migraine (EM; n = 79), those with CM (n = 28), and those with MOH (n = 31). The patients in the 3 migraine groups and individuals in the control group completed psychometric questionnaires, including the TCI and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results

The mean BDI score and the dimension harm avoidance (HA) score of the patients in the 3 migraine groups were significantly higher than those of individuals in the control group. The mean BDI and HA scores were the highest in the MOH group among the 3 migraine groups.

Conclusion

Our results indicate serotonergic involvement in the physiopathology of migraine. In addition, it might risk factor of the migraine chronicity that BDI and HA score are high.

Competing interests

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

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    Arch Gen Psychiatry 1993, 50:975-90. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL