Web-based questionnaire valid for migraine, tension-type headache

A seven-item web-based questionnaire is valid for diagnosing migraine, probable migraine (PM), and tension-type headache (TTH), according to a study published online April 29 in Scientific Reports.

Kyung Min Kim, from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues constructed a seven-item questionnaire for diagnosing migraine, PM, and TTH. The survey was conducted among adults aged 20 to 59 years; based on the responses, migraine, PM, and TTH were diagnosed. Within one month after the web-based interview, a validation interview was performed via telephone by a neurologist.

Both interviews were completed by 256 participants. The researchers found that in the web-based survey, 47.3, 25.4, 23.8, and 3.5 percent were diagnosed with migraine, PM, TTH, and unclassified headache, respectively, while in the validation interviews, 46.5, 23.4, 28.9, 0.8, and 0.4 percent were diagnosed with migraine, PM, TTH, unclassified headache, and primary stabbing headache, respectively. Agreement was best for migraine (sensitivity, 92.6 percent; specificity, 94.8 percent; kappa coefficient, 0.875), followed by TTH (sensitivity, 78.4 percent; specificity, 98.4 percent; kappa coefficient, 0.809); the least agreement was seen for PM (sensitivity, 85.0 percent; specificity, 92.9 percent; kappa coefficient, 0.757).

"Our web-based questionnaire showed a high diagnostic accuracy for migraine, PM, and TTH, and will provide a good opportunity not only in the diagnosis of headache but also in the management of headache disorders," the authors write.