Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with cluster headache during the active periods using the time trade-off method

Abstract

Background and Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the factors affecting QoL in Cluster headache (CH) patients during the active periods.

Methods: The CH patients were enrolled from September 2016 to February 2021 in 16 headache clinics in Korea. The questionnaire conducted questions about their QoL using EQ-5D-3L with the time trade-off (TTO) method. The age-sex matched control groups consisted of patients with migraine were recruited.

Results: A total of 425 CH patients during an active period were included. The CH patients had lower median scores of EQ-5D than healthy control and migraine patients (0.88 ± 0.43 vs. 0.99 ± 0.33 and 0.99 ± 0.43, p < 0.000). Fifty-eight (13.6%) CH patients scored moderate to severe QoL impairment by the TTO method. The QoL states in CH patients were associated with current smoking, the severity, frequency, and duration of pain, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Headache impact test-6, and Allodynia Symptom Checklist-12 scores. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the QoL states in CH patients were negatively correlated with the daily frequency of headache, duration of active periods, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scores.

Conclusions: Our results show that CH patients have a poorer QoL during active periods than the healthy control and migraine patients. Their QoL might be is associated with daily headache frequency, duration of active periods, anxiety, and depression.