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Prediction of Migraine Using Psychophysiological and Personality Measures
Author(s) -
Leijdekkers Marijke L.A.,
Passchier Jan
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.1990.hed3007445.x
Subject(s) - migraine , anxiety , stressor , population , psychophysiology , psychology , heart rate , clinical psychology , medicine , audiology , psychiatry , blood pressure , environmental health
SYNOPSIS The topics of interest in this study are whether migraine patients exhibit a stereotypic reaction to a stressful stimulus which is different from the reaction of non headache controls and whether it is possible to predict headache activity within the migraine population. Our study population comprised 37 female migraine patients and 34 matched controls. Heart rate, skin conductance, pulse amplitude of the temporal artery and an EMG of the temporal muscle were registered during a baseline situation and during a mental stressor. In addition, state anxiety, trait anxiety, facilitating anxiety and stress tolerance were assessed. Migraine patients reported higher levels of trait anxiety, greater fear of failure, lower stress tolerance and higher levels of state anxiety than non headache controls. Physiological baseline levels and stress reactions did not differbetween migraine patients and controls. Linear combinations of psychological and psychophysiological data sets did not show an acceptable degree of accuracy in the classification of individual response profiles into groups. Within the migraine group, 54% of the average duration of migraine attacks and 33% of the variation in average maximum headache intensity could be explained by a combination of psychological, psychophysiological and socio‐demographic variables. It is concluded that measures from both the psychological and the physiological domain should be included when studying the effects of stress in migraine.