Personality traits in headache patients with and without dyspepsia

Abstract

Background & Objectives: Personality trait plays an important role in determining the various presentations of tension-type headache (TTH) and migraine. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the types of personality traits present among patients with migraine and TTH. The secondary objective was to determine whether the patients with headache and coexisting dyspepsia had different personality traits from the patients with headache alone without dyspepsia.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the University Malaya Medical Centre from February 2017 until March 2020. Patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for migraine and TTH according to the International Headache Society (IHS) classification were recruited. The patients’ personality traits were evaluated using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-restructured Form (MMPI- 2-RF). The MMPI Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5) Scales, comprising aggressiveness, psychoticism, disconstraint, neuroticism, and introversion were used. The presence of dyspepsia was diagnosed using the Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire.

Results: There were no statistically significant differences when comparing types of personality traits between migraine and TTH patients. On univariate analysis, headache with dyspepsia was significantly associated with more neuroticism as compared to headache alone (p=0.027). On logistic regression, TTH with dyspepsia was significantly associated with neuroticism (p=0.024, OR=6.921). Psychoticism was significantly associated with chronic daily headache (p=0.001, OR=7.476). Aggression was significantly associated with male gender (p=0.018, OR= 7.580).

Conclusion: Headache with coexistent dyspepsia was associated with more neuroticism as compared to headache alone. In particular, TTH with coexistent dyspepsia was significantly associated with neuroticism compared to TTH without dyspepsia.