Predictors of health-related quality of life in cluster headache

Patients with cluster headache have a poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during active periods compared with healthy controls and migraine patients. The HRQoL of cluster headache patients might be associated with daily headache frequency, duration of active periods, depression, and anxiety, and is improved in recurrent attacks compared with the first onset. This was found in a registry-based study from South Korea [1].

Previous studies have shown that the HRQoL of patients with cluster headache is impaired. Although the severity of the cluster headache attacks might predict considerable functional and social disabilities during the active period of patients with cluster headache, little is known about the predictors associated with their HRQoL and overall impact on physical and social functioning.

The Korean Cluster Headache Registry is a prospective, observational study that included patients with cluster headache from 16 headache clinics in South Korea, enrolled from September 2016 to February 2021. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cluster headache on physical and social functioning and to identify factors affecting HRQoL in patients with cluster headache during their active periods. The questionnaire consisted of questions about patients’ HRQoL using European Quality 5-Dimensions 5-Levels (EQ-5D-3L). Dr Soo-Kyoung Kim (Gyeongsang National University, South Korea) shared the results.

Included were 425 patients with cluster headache during an active period, as well as age- and sex-matched contrast groups, consisting of patients with migraine and healthy controls. The cluster headache patients had lower median scores of EQ-5D-3L than healthy controls and migraine patients (0.88, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively; P<0.001). In total, 58 (13.6%) patients with cluster headache had a moderate-to-severe impairment of their HRQoL. The HRQoL scores in cluster headache patients were associated with:

• current smoking status;
• severity, frequency, and duration of pain; and
• scores on several questionnaires: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9, Headache Impact Test (HIT)-6, and the 12-item Allodynia Symptom Checklist (ASC-12) scores.

Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that HRQoL in cluster headache patients was negatively correlated with the daily frequency of headache, duration of active periods, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scores.

1. Kim S-K, et al. Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with cluster headache during the active periods using the time trade-off method. AL067, IHC 2021, 8–12 September.

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Posted on 8 November 202119 November 2021