Adapted Finnish Migraine-Specific Questionnaire for family studies (FMSQ(FS)): a validation study in two languages

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Genetics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Migraine etiology is increasingly hypothesized to have a genetic component.
• Precise clinical phenotyping is essential for exploring genetic associations in migraine.
• Validated migraine-specific questionnaires are needed for large-scale genetic studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and validate the Finnish Migraine-Specific Questionnaire for German and Italian populations.
• To assess the questionnaire's reliability in differentiating migraine from other primary headaches.
• To facilitate genetic association studies in migraine through improved phenotyping.

Main Methods:

• Translation and cultural adaptation of the Finnish Migraine-Specific Questionnaire into German and Italian.
• Validation of the adapted questionnaire using a comparative standard.
• Assessment of reliability in distinguishing migraine from other primary headache disorders.

Main Results:

• The adapted German and Italian questionnaires demonstrated high reliability in differentiating migraine from other primary headaches.
• The questionnaire showed very good agreement with the established standard for comparison.
• Distinguishing between migraine with and without aura still requires specialist evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The adapted Migraine-Specific Questionnaire is a reliable tool for phenotyping in German and Italian family studies.
• This validated instrument supports genetic research by improving the accuracy of migraine classification.
• Further refinement may be needed for differentiating migraine subtypes based on aura presence.