The relationship between migraines and mental health in women

Abstract

Women are three times more likely than men to experience migraines and endure worse migraine characteristics. Anxiety, depression, trauma, and discrimination have all been identified among migraine populations. The current study aimed at investigating the relationship between migraine characteristics (i.e., frequency, disability), mental health symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, trauma) and gender-based discrimination (i.e., anticipated discrimination, lifetime day-to-day discrimination) among adult women. Consequently, a case-control study with a migraine condition and a non-migraine condition was conducted. Eligibility included women who were at least 18 years of age. Recruitment occurred via the University of Regina’s Psychology Participant Pool. Participants with migraine completed questionnaires about their migraine characteristics. All participants completed questionnaires on mental health and gendered discrimination. A series of independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare mental health symptoms between the two conditions. Hierarchal multiple regressions were conducted to test the influence of migraine characteristics and gender-based discrimination on mental health. Analyses revealed that mental health and gender-based discrimination scores were higher within the migraine group compared to the non-migraine group. Results indicated that migraine frequency and lifetime day-to-day discrimination were a significant predictor for anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. Anticipated discrimination was found to be significantly predictive of trauma symptoms. Lifetime-day-to-day discrimination was significantly predictive of migraine-related reduction in work or school productivity, absence of household work, and a decrease in housework. Lastly, findings revealed that gender-based discrimination was a significant predictor of migraine-related absence from social events, however no individual predictors were significant. These findings may contribute to improvements in the assessment and management of migraines among women, adding to an often under identified population and an emergent field of literature.