Diagnosing Migraines the No-Fuss Way

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A simple, three-question test can identify people with migraines with about the same degree of accuracy as widely used screening tests for other illnesses, says a study in the current issue of the journal Neurology.

According to the test, which was developed by a team of American migraine experts and validated in a national study, answering “yes” to two of the three questions effectively identifies migraine sufferers.

The questions are:

* Has a headache limited your activities for a day or more in the last three months?
* Are you nauseated or sick to your stomach when you have a headache?
* Does light bother you when you have a headache?

The researchers tested the test, called ID Migraine, at 27 primary care sites and 12 headache specialty practice sites in the United States. The study included 443 people making routine visits to primary care physicians for any health reason. They all completed a nine-question survey.

All participants in the study either had headaches that interfered with their work, study or quality of life or said they wanted to discuss their headaches with a doctor. They were referred to one of 12 headache specialty centers, where experts diagnosed them without knowing how the participants had answered the questionnaire.

The researchers then compared the diagnoses from the headache specialty centers with the answers the participants had given on the questionnaire. Of the patients who answered “yes” to two of the three questions, 93 percent had received a migraine diagnosis, the study said.

“Because patients with migraine often present in the primary care setting, the hope is that ID Migraine will help primary care doctors identify migraine quickly and easily,” lead author Dr. Richard B. Lipton, professor and vice chair of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, says in a news release.

“Given the availability of effective treatment, use of the screening tool might represent an important step toward reducing the burden of this illness,” Lipton says.

An estimated 28 million Americans suffer from migraines, but fewer than half have been diagnosed by a doctor.

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