The Migraine Specific Quality of Life (MSQoL) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PRO or PROM) which assesses the

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

migraine Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hou ...

urs. It is a 25-item

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, ...

which is filled out by the patient and is used to determine how the patient's life has been affected by their migraines.

History and development

The MSQoL was funded by the

Wellcome Foundation The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

and developed by Galen Research, as part of an international research study which was conducted in eight countries, with initial work conducted in the UK and US. In the UK, 30 patients who suffer from migraine were interviewed, while 25 patients were interviewed in the US. A focus group was also held with 5 participants. Transcripts of these interviews were used to determine the questionnaire items. The MSQoL was assessed for reliability and validity and was found to have good consistency and test-retest reliability. Scores on the MSQoL were also found to be consistent with another measure of well-being as well as the perceived severity of the affliction for the patients.

International use

The MSQoL has been translated into several languages other than UK English: German, Dutch, Danish, Spanish, Finnish, French, Italian, and USA English. The MSQoL has also been utilized by pharmaceutical companies in order to test whether a given therapy or medication is effective in treating migraines. The MSQoL has been used in the assessment of the effect of

nadolol Nadolol, sold under the brand name Corgard among others, is a medication used to treat high blood pressure, heart pain, atrial fibrillation, and some inherited arrhythmic syndromes. It has also been used to prevent migraine headaches and compl ...

and

topiramate Topiramate, sold under the brand name Topamax among others, is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor medication used to treat epilepsy and prevent migraines. It has also been used in alcohol dependence. For epilepsy this includes treatment for gener ...

, regular water intake and using migraine patients as trainers in preventive attack management. Different scores on the MSQoL taken before and after the trial infer a change in the patient's quality of life.

References

{{reflist Quality of life Migraine