Perceptions of health, cognition, and pain among middle-aged and older adults with migraine: A population-based cross-sectional study examining findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

objectiveThe study compared middle-aged and older Canadians with and without migraine, examining how self-perceptions of health, cognition, and pain relate to objective health metrics.

backgroundMigraine, a debilitating neurological disorder, affects 8.3% of Canadians and 14.0% of the global population. Research has primarily focused on those aged 18-50 years, leaving middle-aged and older adults understudied. Individuals' perceptions of their health, cognition, and pain can tangibly impact their well-being, with negative health self-perceptions linked to higher hospitalization, illness, and mortality rates.

methodsThis population-based cross-sectional study used 2015-2018 data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging during the first follow-up, including the Comprehensive cohort (n = 27,765; 14.0% migraine) and Tracking cohort (n = 17,052; 13.3% migraine). Participants in the Comprehensive cohort were interviewed at one of 11 in-person sites across seven provinces, located 25-50 km from their homes. Those in the Tracking cohort completed a 60-min telephone interview.

resultsFemales were more than twice as likely to report having a migraine diagnosis. Individuals with migraine rated their physical, mental, and oral health lower than those without migraine and had higher rates of anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. Those with migraine perceived their memory as declining and worried about that decline, yet results displayed only trivial differences in objective memory performance between those with a migraine diagnosis and those without. However, more than twice as many individuals with migraine reported that a physician had told them that they have memory problems. Individuals with migraine reported a higher frequency and intensity of pain and discomfort, resulting in a higher occurrence of missed activities, and higher functional impairment scores.

conclusionBy exploring how individuals with migraine perceive their health, cognition, and pain, this study highlights the gap between self-reported health perceptions and objective health assessments. For example, individuals with migraine tend to report poorer mental health, a trend that aligns with the higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, and mood disorders observed within this population. Interestingly, despite individuals with migraine rating their memory as lower than those without migraine, objective memory testing reveals either no difference or even slightly improved scores among those with migraine. Finally, our findings support a Canadian lifetime prevalence rate in this older adult cohort of 13.7%, which aligns with the global prevalence rates of 14.0%.