Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Living With Migraine

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Living With Migraine

Results of the MICOAS Qualitative Study

Dawn C. Buse PhD; Maya T. Gerstein DrPH; Carrie R. Houts PhD; James S. McGinley PhD; Alyssa A. Uzumcu BA; Kelly P. McCarrier PhD; Alexis Cooke PhD; Nancy M. Touba MPH; Tracy K. Nishida PhD; R. J. Wirth PhD; Richard B. Lipton MD

Disclosures

Headache. 2022;62(3):284-293. 

In This Article

Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an ongoing global health crisis that has had a range of impacts on people living with migraine.

Methods: Qualitative interviews performed as part of the Migraine Clinical Outcome Assessment System project, a multi-stage Food and Drug Administration–grant funded program to develop a patient-centered core set of outcome measures for use in migraine clinical trials, offered an opportunity to explore the experience of living with migraine during the pandemic as well as to examine whether migraine treatment priorities, symptoms, and associated disability changed due to the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the United States between the summer and fall of 2020 with 40 individuals with self-reported, medically diagnosed migraine who self-reported that they had not tested positive for or been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Results: Seventy percent (n = 28) of the sample reported ≥1 pandemic-related impact on their life with migraine. Fourteen participants reported both positive and negative impacts, twelve reported negative impacts only, and two reported positive impacts only. Among those reporting ≥1 pandemic-related impact, nine participants (32%) reported more frequent and five (17%) reported less frequent migraine attacks. Other negative impacts included interrupted medical care (n= 9; 32%), and greater stress (

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