Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Health Behaviors in Episodic Migraine: Why Behavior Change Matters

  • Episodic Migraine (S Nahas, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Episodic migraine is common. Everyday behavioral patterns are associated with migraine attacks and disability. This paper reviews health behaviors that can be targeted in people with episodic migraine to enhance migraine-related outcomes.

Recent Findings

Stressful events and perceived stress have demonstrated associations with migraine attack onset among people with episodic migraine. Consistency in daily patterns (eating, sleeping, exercise, and hydration status) is also associated with migraine activity. Sleep deprivation, fatigue, and poor quality sleep have demonstrated relationships with migraine attack onset, as well as headache frequency and headache-related disability in people with episodic migraine.

Summary

The health behaviors implicated in episodic migraine are part of everyday patterns and can be targeted routinely in clinical practice to improve migraine management. Behavior change is challenging and should ideally be supported by a multidisciplinary team. Future research should focus on evaluating specific behavior change interventions and the relative impact of behavior on migraine outcomes in high- and low-frequency episodic migraine.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

  1. Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version). Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629–808.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lipton R, Bigal M, Diamond M, Freitag F, Reed M, Stewart W. Migraine prevalence, disease burden, and the need for preventive therapy. Neurology. 2007;68:343–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Blumenfeld AM, Varon SF, Wilcox TK, Buse DC, Kawata AK, Manack A, et al. Disability, HRQoL and resource use among chronic and episodic migraineurs: results from the International Burden of Migraine Study (IBMS). Cephalalgia. 2011;31(3):301–15.

  4. Katsarava Z, Manack A, Yoon MS, Obermann M, Becker H, Dommes P, et al. Chronic migraine: classification and comparisons. Cephalalgia. 2011;31(5):520–9.

  5. Serrano D, Manack AN, Reed ML, Buse DC, Varon SF, Lipton RB. Cost and predictors of lost productive time in chronic migraine and episodic migraine: results from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) study. Value Health. 2013;16(1):31–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Smitherman TA, McDermott MJ, Buchanan EM. Negative impact of episodic migraine on a university population: quality of life, functional impairment, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Headache. 2011;51(4):581–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bigal ME, Serrano D, Buse D, Scher A, Stewart WF, Lipton RB. Acute migraine medications and evolution from episodic to chronic migraine: a longitudinal population-based study. Headache. 2008;48(8):1157–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Buse DC, Manack A, Serrano D, Turkel C, Lipton RB. Sociodemographic and comorbidity profiles of chronic migraine and episodic migraine sufferers. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2010;81(4):428–32.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Burstein R, Noseda R, Borsook D. Migraine: multiple processes, complex pathophysiology. J Neurosci. 2015;35(17):6619–29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Borkum JM. Migraine triggers and oxidative stress: a narrative review and synthesis. Headache. 2016;56(1):12–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Maleki N, Becerra L, Brawn J, McEwen B, Burstein R, Borsook D. Common hippocampal structural and functional changes in migraine. Brain Struct Funct. 2013;218(4):903–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lipton RB, Silberstein SD. Episodic and chronic migraine headache: breaking down barriers to optimal treatment and prevention. Headache. 2015;55(Suppl 2):103–22. quiz 23-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Moon HJ, Seo JG, Park SP. Perceived stress in patients with migraine: a case-control study. J Headache Pain. 2017;18(1):73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kelman L. The triggers or precipitants of the acute migraine attack. Cephalalgia. 2007;27(5):394–402.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Wober C, Wober-Bingol C. Triggers of migraine and tension-type headache. Handb Clin Neurol. 2010;97:161–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. • Park JW, Chu MK, Kim JM, Park SG, Cho SJ. Analysis of trigger factors in episodic migraineurs using a smartphone headache diary applications. PloS One. 2016;11(2):e0149577. This study provides support for using a smarphone headache diary application to track episodic migraine triggers.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. • Houle TT, Turner DP, Golding AN, Porter JAH, Martin VT, Penzien DB, et al. Forecasting individual headache attacks using perceived stress: development of a multivariable prediction model for persons with episodic migraine. Headache. 2017;57(7):1041–50. This article demonstrates that future episodic headache attacks can be predicted through the evaluation of perceived stress levels.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gonzalez-Quintanilla V, Toriello-Suarez M, Gutierrez-Gonzalez S, Rojo-Lopez A, Gonzalez-Suarez A, Viadero-Cervera R, et al. Stress at work in migraine patients: differences in attack frequency. Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain). 2015;30(2):83–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Woldeamanuel YW, Cowan RP. The impact of regular lifestyle behavior in migraine: a prevalence case-referent study. J Neurol. 2016;263(4):669–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations: final report. Sleep Health. 2015;1(4):233–43.

  21. Walters AB, Hamer JD, Smitherman TA. Sleep disturbance and affective comorbidity among episodic migraineurs. Headache. 2014;54(1):116–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Sullivan DP, Martin PR. Sleep and headache: relationships between migraine and non-migrain eheadaches and sleep duration, sleep quality, chronotype, and obstructive sleep apnoea risk. Aust J Psychol. 2017;69(3):116–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Turner DP, Smitherman TA, Penzien DB, Porter JA, Martin VT, Houle TT. Nighttime snacking, stress, and migraine activity. J Clin Neurosci. 2014;21(4):638–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Dalkara T, Kilic K. How does fasting trigger migraine? A hypothesis. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2013;17(10):368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Evans EW, Lipton RB, Peterlin BL, Raynor HA, Thomas JG, O'Leary KC, et al. Dietary intake patterns and diet quality in a nationally representative sample of women with and without severe headache or migraine. Headache. 2015;55(4):550–61.

  26. Verrotti A, Di Fonzo A, Penta L, Agostinelli S, Parisi P. Obesity and headache/migraine: the importance of weight reduction through lifestyle modifications. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:420858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Cervoni C, Bond DS, Seng EK. Behavioral weight loss treatments for individuals with migraine and obesity. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2016;20(2):13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Katic BJ, Krause SJ, Tepper SJ, Hu HX, Bigal ME. Adherence to acute migraine medication: what does it mean, why does it matter? Headache. 2010;50(1):117–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Worthington I, Pringsheim T, Gawel MJ, Gladstone J, Cooper P, Dilli E, et al. Canadian Headache Society Guideline: acute drug therapy for migraine headache. Can J Neurol Sci. 2013;40(5 Suppl 3):S1–S80.

  30. Silberstein SD, Holland S, Freitag F, Dodick DW, Argoff C, Ashman E. Evidence-based guideline update: pharmacologic treatment for episodic migraine prevention in adults: report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society. Neurology. 2012;78(17):1337–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Seng EK, Nicholson RA, Holroyd KA. Development of a measure of self-efficacy for acute headache medication adherence. J Behav Med. 2016;39(6):1033–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Lipton RB, Buse DC, Serrano D, Holland S, Reed ML. Examination of unmet treatment needs among persons with episodic migraine: results of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) study. Headache. 2013;53(8):1300–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Seng EK, Robbins MS, Nicholson RA. Acute migraine medication adherence, migraine disability and patient satisfaction: a naturalistic daily diary study. Cephalalgia. 2017;37(10):955–964.

  34. Ramsey RR, Ryan JL, Hershey AD, Powers SW, Aylward BS, Hommel KA. Treatment adherence in patients with headache: a systematic review. Headache. 2014;54(5):795–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Holland S, Fanning KM, Serrano D, Buse DC, Reed ML, Lipton RB. Rates and reasons for discontinuation of triptans and opioids in episodic migraine: results from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) study. J Neurol Sci. 2013;326(1–2):10–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Seng EK, Holroyd KA. Optimal use of acute headache medication: a qualitative examination of behaviors and barriers to their performance. Headache. 2013;53(9):1438–50.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Seng EK, Rains JA, Nicholson RA, Lipton RB. Improving medication adherence in migraine treatment. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2015;19(6):24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. • Kahwati L, Viswanathan M, Golin CE, Kane H, Lewis M, Jacobs S. Identifying configurations of behavior change techniques in effective medication adherence interventions: a qualitative comparative analysis. Systematic Reviews. 2016;5:83. A great review paper that highlights behavior change techniques to improve medication adherence across chronic conditions.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Miller W, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing: preparing people for change. New York: Guilford Press; 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Miller CK, Bauman J. Goal setting: an integral component of effective diabetes care. Curr Diab Rep. 2014;14(8):509.

  41. Burke LE, Wang J, Sevick MA. Self-monitoring in weight loss: a systematic review of the literature. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111(1):92–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Espie CA, Kyle SD, Williams C, Ong JC, Douglas NJ, Hames P, et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of online cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia disorder delivered via an automated media-rich web application. Sleep. 2012;35(6):769–81.

  43. Lipton RB, Serrano D, Pavlovic JM, Manack AN, Reed ML, Turkel CC, et al. Improving the classification of migraine subtypes: an empirical approach based on factor mixture models in the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) study. Headache. 2014;54(5):830–49.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Lauren Rosenberg, Nicole Butler & Elizabeth K. Seng

  2. Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Elizabeth K. Seng

  3. Montefiore Headache Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Elizabeth K. Seng

Authors
  1. Lauren Rosenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicole Butler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elizabeth K. Seng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth K. Seng.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Lauren Rosenberg and Nicole Butler declare no conflict of interest. Elizabeth K. Seng has received research funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (K23 NS096107) and has served as a consultant for GlaxoSmithKline.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Episodic Migraine

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rosenberg, L., Butler, N. & Seng, E.K. Health Behaviors in Episodic Migraine: Why Behavior Change Matters. Curr Pain Headache Rep 22, 65 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0721-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0721-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation