A validation study of an Italian version of the ID Migraine: preliminary results

Migraine is a highly prevalent and disabling disease that is substantially undiagnosed in primary care. Recently, the ID Migraine, a self–administered questionnaire, was shown to be a valid and reliable screener for migraine in primary care in the USA. To validate an Italian version of the ID Migraine, we planned a multicentric study, evaluating at least 220 patients affected by various form of headache. The responses to the questionnaire were compared with the diagnosis of headache made by a headache specialist blind to the result of the questionnaire. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for migraine were calculated. The statistical analysis on 140 patients now examined showed a very good performance of the ID Migraine with high sensitivity: 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89–0.95), specificity: 0.70 (95% CI: 0.54–0.86) and positive predictive value: 0.89 (0.82–0.95). If confirmed, these results would establish ID Migraine as a valid screening instrument for migraine in Italian headache patients and warrant further investigation in primary care to assess the validity of this ID screener in Italian population.