NEW YORK, Nov 26 -- Some people with migraine really do have a "migraine personality," according to doctors from the Peoples Republic of China.
Those people are more likely to be hypochondriacs, depressed, hysterical or
schizophrenic, the researchers say in a recent issue of the journal Headache.
Dr. Arthur Yin Fan, of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
and Pharmacy, and colleagues used a standard questionnaire to assess the
personalities of 23 Chinese migraine patients before and after treatment. These
subjects were compared with 30 healthy volunteers.
Before treatment, migraine patients had higher levels of hypochondria,
depression, hysteria and schizophrenia than the healthy people, the Chinese
doctors found.
After treatment, signs of hysteria and schizophrenia were remarkably
reduced, the researchers note. But after treatment, some migraine patients were
less able to "deal with stress and psychological pressure." They were also more
prone "to depression and pessimism, and extraordinary concern about their
health."
Fan's group suggests that these characteristics could hinder migraine
treatment in the long term. To counter this, they recommend that psychological
treatment should be added to standard migraine management.
The concept of a "migraine personality" has been controversial among
headache experts. Some experts point out that conditions such as hypochondria
and depression may simply be the result of severe, chronic pain.
