Migraine in the emergency department: a psychometric study of a migraine “repeaters” sample

To evaluate the influence of psychometric variables on the “repeater” phenomenon in an emergency department, 15 “repeaters” and 27 outpatient migraineurs were recruited. All patients were submitted to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 (TAS–20), Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and Migraine DIsability Assessment Scale (MIDAS). The “repeater” group showed higher MIDAS total scores (p=0.02) and higher scores in TAS–20 (p=0.02) than the outpatients. A higher frequency of alexithymic trait (p=0.02) and higher BDI scores (p=0.07) have also been observed in the “repeater” group than the outpatients. Alexithymia and depressive mood associated with high disability may be a specific psychosocial pattern of “repeater” migraineurs. The psychometric evaluation of this population may be important to explain the “repeaters” phenomenon.