Prevalence of personality disorders in patients with chronic migraine

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) in patients with chronic migraine (CM).

This study included 105 CM patients who were diagnosed according to the criteria of the International Headache Society (IHS) and 100 healthy volunteers. PDs were diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM, Revised Third Edition Personality Disorders, and pain severity and level of disability were assessed with the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) test.

Of the 105 CM patients, 85 (81%) had at least one PD. PDs were more prevalent in the patient group than in the healthy control group, and the most common PDs were obsessive-compulsive (n=53, 50.5%), dependent (n=20, 19%), avoidant (n=20, 19%), and passive-aggressive (n=14, 13.3%) PDs. The MIDAS scores of the CM patients with PDs were higher than those of the CM patients without PDs.

PDs, particularly obsessive-compulsive, dependent, avoidant, and passive-aggressive PDs, were frequently observed in CM patients in the present study.