Study Links Photophobia Severity with Migraine-Associated Disability and Diminished Work Productivity
The results of a study presented at the 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society (AHS) established a correlation between severe photophobia and reduced work productivity, presenteeism, absenteeism, activity impairment, and migraine-related disability in patients with migraine.
The study included 1084 participants (87.2% female, mean age 46.1 y, 53.9% employed) and incorporated data from the American Registry for Migraine Research (ARMR) and the following questionnaires: Photosensitivity Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). Researchers utilized multiple linear regression models to control for age, sex, headache frequency, headache intensity, anxiety, and depression, and demonstrated a statistically significant association between photophobia scores with MIDAS scores (F[71028] = 127.42, P<.001, R2 = .461, N = 1036); overall work impairment (F[7570] = 29.23, P<.001, R2 = .255, n = 578); activity impairment (F[7570)]= 27.42, P<.001, R2 = .243, n = 578); presenteeism (F[7570]= 29.17, P<.001, R2 = .255, n = 578); and absenteeism for both the zero-inflated (P=.003) and negative binomial (P=.045) model components (P<.001, n = 578).
Findings from this study highlight the need to include photophobia severity as a patient-centered endpoint in clinical practice and in future clinical trials. The study includes researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, University of Arizona College of Medicine, and University of Utah Department of Neurology.