The effect of maternal migraine headache on their children’s quality of life

Abstract

Migraine is an episodic disease characterized by a throbbing and generally unilateral headache, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and light and sound sensitivity. Migraine is known to affect one's quality of life; not only the person with migraine but also his/her family and social environment are affected by this condition. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal migraine on children's quality of life. The patient group comprised 70 mothers with migraine diagnoses and their 111 healthy children, while 50 healthy mothers and their 86 children were included in this study as the control group. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Migraine Disability Assessment Scale, Beck Depression Index (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Index (BAI) were used for evaluation of mothers; 3 to 7-year old KINDL and 7- to 17-year-old KINDL-R Quality of Life Scales were used to evaluate the quality of life of children. The SPSS 21.0 program was used for statistical analysis and p < 0.05 was assumed to be statistically significant. The mean age of the migraine group was 37.09 ± 6.94 years, and the mean age of the control group was 38.2 ± 4.5. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were more frequently found in subjects with migraine (p < 0.05). In comparison with the control group: 3 to 7-year old KINDL total scores, self-esteem and school subscales, 7- to 17-year-old KINDL total scores, self-esteem and the social relationships subscale scores were lower in migraine group. It was found to be significant that VAS, BDI and BAI scores of the mothers were negatively correlated with the children's quality of life. Our study concluded that the presence of migraine-type headache in mothers worsen the relations in school, self-esteem and quality of life in younger children and social relations, relations in school and quality of life in older children. The maternal age, disease severity, and anxiety and depression symptoms were shown to predict the quality of life in children. Performing preventive interventions by individually assessing bio-psycho-social elements for the treatment of mothers with migraine will preserve other family member's and especially children's quality of life.

<p>Young People’s Response to Parental Neurological Disorder: A Structured Review</p>

“…48,51,58,68,78,79,81,88 Parental psychopathology was also associated with poor child responses and stress. 60,65,66,70,[79][80][81]83,91,93 Female children were seen to be at an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, stress, or behavioural problems compared to males in four conditions. [78][79][80]83,89 Multiple sclerosis was the only condition with a recent systematic review, 33 concluding that affected children had generally negative psychosocial experiences.…”

“…The review identified the use of predominantly crosssectional study designs, which have particular limitations given that child responses are often reported to differ between age groups. 60,78,80 There may also be natural variations at different stages of a child's development, and crosssectional studies might not account for a response that may not be wholly down to parental illness, but due to the more commonplace challenges of growing up.…”

The Relationship Between Parental Care and Pain in Children With Headache: A Narrative Review

“…As is well known, migraine has a negative impact on quality of life 40 . A comparison between mothers with and without migraine demonstrated that mothers with migraine headaches report impaired quality of life and more symptoms of depression and anxiety than a control group 41 . Moreover, maternal characteristics, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms (and, in general, her emotional status), age, and severity of migraine headaches, can negatively affect their children’s quality of life, especially regarding social and school relations.…”

Maternal migraine and the risk of psychiatric disorders in offspring: a population-based cohort study

“…Women are three times more likely to experience migraine than men, and are predominantly affected during their childbearing years (Burch et al ., 2018). There is growing concern of the long-term mental health problems in the children born to mothers with migraine (Evans et al ., 2005; Kaasbøll et al ., 2012; Güngen et al ., 2017). Children of mothers with migraine had more psychological and behavioural problems that were assessed through questionnaires in several previous studies (Evans et al ., 2005; Kaasbøll et al ., 2012; Güngen et al ., 2017).…”

“…There is growing concern of the long-term mental health problems in the children born to mothers with migraine (Evans et al ., 2005; Kaasbøll et al ., 2012; Güngen et al ., 2017). Children of mothers with migraine had more psychological and behavioural problems that were assessed through questionnaires in several previous studies (Evans et al ., 2005; Kaasbøll et al ., 2012; Güngen et al ., 2017). It was suggested that maternal migraine may affect offspring psychiatric disorders via altered intrauterine environment in the central nervous system (Burch, 2020).…”