Psychiatric Comorbidity in Patients with Migraine: A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a prevalent, highly disabling chronic neurological disorder. Clinical and population observations suggest an elevated prevalence of mental health disorders among these patients. This study aims to quantify psychiatric comorbidities in migraineurs using standardised clinical assessment metrics. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 120 migraine patients diagnosed under the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) guidelines. Psychiatric conditions were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) alongside structured clinical psychiatric diagnostic interviews. Results: Among the 120 recruited participants, 71.7% met the criteria for at least one psychiatric comorbidity. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) was the most common condition (38.3%), closely followed by Major Depressive Disorder (MDD, 24.2%). Significantly higher rates of psychiatric pathology were observed in patients suffering from migraine with aura compared to those without aura (81.6% vs. 67.1%, p = 0.038). Chronic migraineurs also demonstrated significantly higher anxiety and depression scores compared to episodic sufferers (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Psychiatric comorbidities, specifically anxiety and depressive disorders, are exceptionally prevalent in the migraine population. Integrating routine mental health screenings into standard neurological care is critical to optimizing therapeutic outcomes.