Investigating the relationships between the burden of multiple sensory hypersensitivity symptoms and headache-related disability in patents with migraine

Sensory hypersensitivities such as photophobia, phonophobia, and osmophobia are common in patients with migraine. We investigated the burden of these multiple sensory hypersensitivities in migraine.

In this cross-sectional study, 187 consecutive patients with migraine (26 men/161 women; age, 45.9 ± 13.2 years) were included. Sensory hypersensitivity symptoms such as photo-/phono-/osmophobia and accompanying symptoms were determined by neurologists in interviews. The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) was used to assess headache-related disability. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was also administered.

Photophobia, phonophobia and osmophobia were observed in 75.4%, 76.5% and 55.1% of the patients with migraine, respectively. A significant overlap in sensory hypersensitivities (photo-/phono-/osmophobia) was found; the proportions of patients with 2 and 3 coexisting sensory hypersensitivities were 33.2% and 41.7%, respectively. The MIDAS score was higher in those with 3 sensory hypersensitivity symptoms than in those with 0 to 2 sensory hypersensitivity symptoms. A generalized linear model with ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that multiple sensory hypersensitivities, younger age, more migraine days per month, and a higher K6 score were significantly related to the higher MIDAS score.

Our study showed that sensory hypersensitivities commonly occur and overlap in patients with migraine and that multiple sensory hypersensitivity symptoms have a significant impact on headache-related disability.