The HIT-6 Questionnaire Corresponds to the PedMIDAS for Assessment of Pediatric Headaches
Jacob Genizi1,2, Raneen Mansour1, Malak Burbara2
1Pediatric Department, Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa 3104802, Israel.
Insights
The HIT-6 questionnaire is a user-friendly tool that effectively assesses headache impact in children, correlating well with the PedMIDAS scale. This study suggests HIT-6 can be a valuable alternative for evaluating pediatric headache burden.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric neurology
- Clinical assessment tools
- Headache disorders
Background:
- Headaches frequently impair daily functioning in children and adolescents.
- Existing tools like PedMIDAS can be challenging for children, while HIT-6, validated for adults, offers user-friendliness.
- Understanding the impact of primary headaches (migraine, tension-type) requires accurate assessment tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the global assessment of daily functioning impact between PedMIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires in children.
- To evaluate the correlation of these questionnaires with headache frequency and intensity.
- To determine the suitability of HIT-6 as an alternative for assessing pediatric headache burden.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 100 children (aged 6-18) with primary headaches attending a specialized clinic.
- Children completed both PedMIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires.
- Data collected included headache diagnosis, frequency, intensity, and demographic information.
Main Results:
- A moderate positive correlation (ρ=0.6) was found between PedMIDAS and HIT-6 scores.
- HIT-6 showed a stronger correlation with headache frequency than PedMIDAS when adjusted for gender and headache type.
- Both questionnaires showed weak correlations with age, disease duration, and headache intensity.
Conclusions:
- The HIT-6 questionnaire demonstrates good correlation with the PedMIDAS in children.
- HIT-6 can serve as a practical and effective alternative for assessing the impact of headaches in pediatric populations.
- This finding supports the use of HIT-6 for easily evaluating headache burden in children.
Abstract:
Objective: The aim of our study was to compare two questionnaires regarding their ability to globally assess the impact of headaches on daily functioning in children as a primary endpoint and, secondarily, to evaluate their correlation to frequency and headache strength. Background: Headache is a common complaint in children and adolescents, leading to functional impairment. The impact of primary headaches, such as migraine and tension-type headaches, varies according to pain severity and frequency. Although the PedMIDAS questionnaire is a validated tool for assessing headache-related impact in children, it can be difficult for children to complete. The HIT-6 questionnaire is user-friendly but has been validated exclusively for use in adults. Methods: Our method involved a prospective cohort study in children aged 6-18 years who visited the headache clinic at Bnai Zion Medical Center due to primary headaches. All children filled in both the PedMIDAS and HIT-6. Data on headache diagnosis, frequency and intensity along with demographic data were obtained. Results: Of the 100 children participating, 96 completed both questionnaires. The final sample was 66% (63) female, and the average age was 14 years (±3.3). Migraine was reported by 62% (60), followed by tension-type headaches (18%) and mixed headache (15%). A weak positive spearman correlation was observed between PedMIDAS and HIT-6 scores to age (respectively, ρ 0.3 with p value < 0.005, and ρ 0.2 with p value < 0.05), a weak positive spearman correlation as well between the HIT-6 score and both disease duration and headache intensity (respectively, ρ 0.221 with p value < 0.05 and ρ 0.250 with p value < 0.05). PedMIDAS score was weakly positively correlated to headache frequency (ρ 0.27 with p value < 0.05). A moderately positive spearman correlation was found between the PedMIDAS and HIT scores with ρ 0.6 and p value < 0.005. Linear regression analysis revealed a stronger correlation with headache frequency for the HIT-6 than for the PedMIDAS, when adjusted to gender and headache type. Conclusions: The HIT-6 questionnaire correlates with the PedMIDAS questionnaire and can serve as a good alternative for easily evaluating headache burden in children.
