The MIGREX study: Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction among migraine patients

Background

Migraine attacks have a high impact on daily activities. There is limited research on the burden of migraine on sexual functioning.

Objective

To determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with migraine and its relationship with migraine features and comorbidities.

Method

This is a cross-sectional study. We included migraine patients between 18 and 60 years-old from 8 Headache Clinics in Spain. We recorded demographic data and migraine features. Patients fulfilled a survey including comorbidities, Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and a questionnaire about migraine impact on sexual activity. A K-nearest neighbor supervised learning algorithm was used to identify differences between migraine patients with and without sexual dysfunction.

Results

We included 306 patients (85.6% women, mean age 42.3 ±11.1 years). A 41.8% of participants had sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction was associated with being female (OR [95% CI]: 2.42 [1.17–5.00]; p < 0.001), being older than 46.5 years (4.04 [2.48–6.59]; p < 0.001), having chronic migraine (2.31 [1.41–3.77]; p = 0.001), using preventive medication (2.45 [1.35–4.45]; p = 0.004), analgesic overusing (3.51 [2.03–6.07]; p < 0.001), menopause (4.18 [2.43–7.17]; p < 0.001) and anxiety (2.90 [1.80–4.67]; p < 0.001) and depression (6.14 [3.18–11.83]; p < 0.001). However, only female gender, age, menopause and depression were the statistically significant variables selected in the model to classify migraine patients with or without sexual dysfunction (Accuracy [95% CI]: 0.75 (0.62–0.85), Kappa: 0.48, p = 0.005).

Conclusions

Sexual dysfunction is frequent in migraine patients visited in a headache clinic. However, migraine characteristics or use of preventive medication are not directly associated with sexual dysfunction. Instead, risk factors for sexual dysfunction were female gender, higher age, menopause and depression.