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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

James Warren Shaw, PhD, PharmD, MPH¹, Jia Luo, MD, MS¹, William B. Young, MD¹, and Shijie Chen, PhD². (1) Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, 111 South 11th Street, Suite 8130, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-852-3045, james.shaw@shawanalytics.com, (2) Statistics Division, RTI International, 1615 M Street NW, Suite 740, Washington, DC 20036

The impact of migraine can be measured by assessing the pattern and severity of its associated symptoms. Few studies have evaluated the association of migraine-related symptoms with sociodemographic characteristics and indicators of well-being.

University students administered a questionnaire battery to respondents living in Tucson, AZ. A quota sampling method was used so that respondents would be evenly split between groups defined by age and sex as well as among three social classes. The battery included measures of migraine-related symptoms, emotional well-being, self-esteem, social support, and satisfaction with various life domains.

734 usable questionnaires were completed. The mean age of respondents was 38.0±12.4 years, and 51.4% were female. 53.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher level of education, and the median annual household income was $62,500. 66.8% were non-Hispanic white, 4.2% non-Hispanic black, 14.2% other non-Hispanic, and 14.9% Hispanic/Latino.

During the week prior to survey, 61% of respondents experienced headaches with 8.4% being distressed quite a bit or extremely. 35.5% experienced nausea, 14.7% dizziness, 34.1% numbness, and 72.9% muscle soreness. Headache distress was positively associated with female sex; negatively associated with social class, income, age, and level of physical activity; and unassociated with smoking status, race/ethnicity, or body mass index. Correlations of symptom distress with emotional well-being ranged from -0.16 to -0.29.

This research provides novel estimates of the association of migraine-related symptoms with various individual characteristics. Control totals from the American Community Survey will be used to weight the data so that results will be generalizable to the Tucson population.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to

• Discuss the epidemiology of migraine and its burden in the community setting.
• List the symptoms commonly associated with migraine and describe their prevalence in the community.
• Articulate the association of migrainous symptoms with sociodemographic characteristics and measures of psychological well-being.

Keywords: Chronic Illness, Quality of Life

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered