Impulsivity among migraine patients: Study in a series of 155 cases☆☆☆

Abstract Introduction Impulsivity is a psychological phenomenon that has not been extensively studied in headache patients. We aim to assess the presence of impulsivity in patients with chronic migraine (CM) and medication overuse (MO). Patients All patients examined in an outpatient headache clinic between January 2013 and March 2014 were included. Episodic migraine, CM, and MO were diagnosed according to ICHD- III beta criteria. We prospectively gathered demographic and clinical characteristics. Mood disorders were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and impulsiveness was assessed with the Plutchik Impulsivity Scale. Results A total of 155 patients were included (22 men, 133 women). The mean age (SD) was 38.2 (11.7) years (range, 18-70); 104 patients (67.1%) presented CM and, among them, 74 (71.1%) had MO. Of the patient total, 28.4% met criteria for anxiety, 7.1% for depression and 16.1% for impulsivity. The CM group showed higher scores for HADS-anxiety (8.5 [SD 4.5] vs 6.4 [SD 3.6], P  = .003) and HADS-depression (4.4 [4.3] vs 1.9 [2.3], P P  = .01) and HADS-Depression (5.1 [4.6] vs 2.7 [2.9], P  = .002) were higher in patients who also had MO. We found no associations between Plutchik scale scores or presence of impulsivity with either CM or MO. Conclusion Impulsivity is a common trait in our population of migraine patients, but unlike mood disorders, it is not correlated with either CM or MO.