Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia and migraine report more depressive symptoms, higher headache intensity, and are more likely to have severe headache-related disability as compared to controls without fibromyalgia, according to a recent study. Cases of comorbid fibromyalgia and migraine were identified using a prospectively maintained headache database at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Depressive symptoms as assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9, intensity of headache, and migraine-related disability as assessed by Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) were primary measures used to compare migraine patients with comorbid fibromyalgia vs those without. One hundred and fifty-seven cases and 471 controls were identified. Researchers found:
- Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia reported significantly higher PHQ-9 scores (OR 1.08) and headache intensity scores (odds ratio [OR] 1.149).
- There was no significant difference in migraine-related disability (OR 1.002).
- Patients with fibromyalgia were more likely to score in a higher category of depression severity (OR 1.467) and more likely to score in a higher category of migraine-related disability (OR 1.23).
Whealy M, Nanda S, Vincent A, Mandrekar J, Cutrer FM. Fibromyalgia in migraine: A retrospective cohort study. J Headache Pain . 2018;19(1):61. doi:10.1186/s10194-018-0892-9.