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. 2024 Jan;20(1):86-93.
doi: 10.3988/jcn.2022.0396.

An Analysis of the Determinants of the Health-Related Quality of Life in Asian Patients With Cluster Headaches During Cluster Periods Using the Time Trade-Off Method

Soo-Kyoung Kim  1 , Min Kyung Chu  2 , Byung-Kun Kim  3 , Pil-Wook Chung  4 , Heui-Soo Moon  4 , Mi Ji Lee  5 , Yun-Ju Choi  6 , Jeong Wook Park  7 , Byung-Su Kim  8 , Tae-Jin Song  8 , Kyungmi Oh  9 , Jin-Young Ahn  10 , Jong-Hee Sohn  11 , Kwang-Soo Lee  12 , Kwang-Yeol Park  13 , Jae Myun Chung  14 , Chin-Sang Chung  15 , Soo-Jin Cho  16
Affiliations

An Analysis of the Determinants of the Health-Related Quality of Life in Asian Patients With Cluster Headaches During Cluster Periods Using the Time Trade-Off Method

Soo-Kyoung Kim et al. J Clin Neurol. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Patients with cluster headache (CH) exhibit impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, there have been few studies related to the HRQoL of patients with CH from Asian backgrounds. This study aimed to determine the impact of CH on HRQoL and to identify the factors affecting HRQoL in patients with CH during cluster periods.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled patients with CH from 17 headache clinics in South Korea between September 2016 and February 2021. The study aimed to determine HRQoL in patients with CH using the EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) index and the time trade-off (TTO) method. Age- and sex-matched headache-free participants were recruited as a control group.

Results: The study included 423 patients with CH who experienced a cluster period at the time. EQ-5D scores were lower in patients with CH (0.88±0.43, mean±standard deviation) than in the controls (0.99±0.33, p<0.001). The TTO method indicated that 58 (13.6%) patients with CH exhibited moderate-to-severe HRQoL deterioration. The HRQoL states in patients with CH were associated with current smoking patterns, headache severity, frequency, and duration, and scores on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item scale (PHQ-9), 6-item Headache Impact Test, and 12-item Allodynia Symptom Checklist. Multivariable logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the HRQoL states in patients with CH were negatively correlated with the daily frequency of headaches, cluster period duration, and GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores.

Conclusions: Patients with CH experienced a worse quality of life during cluster periods compared with the headache-free controls, but the degree of HRQoL deterioration varied among them. The daily frequency of headaches, cluster period duration, anxiety, and depression were factors associated with HRQoL deterioration severity in patients with CH.

Keywords: EQ-5D; cluster headaches; disability; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Min Kyung Chu and Byung-Kun Kim, contributing editors of the Journal of Clinical Neurology, were not involved in the editorial evaluation or decision to publish this article. All remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Flow chart of participating subjects. CH, cluster headache; ICHD-3, third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Degree of health-related quality-of-life impairment according to EuroQol 5 Dimensions score using the time trade-off method.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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