Marriage and migraine in indian females: a study on impact of marital satisfaction on migraine- related disability and quality of life

Abstract

Introduction: Migraine is more common in females across all cultures. Chronic migraine is associated with a significant negative impact on relationships. The ultimate goal of marriage is to attain marital satisfaction. Negative interactions and disagreements within the marital dyad are bound to cause marital dissatisfaction. The factors that contribute to marital satisfaction are complex and vary across different cultures. Aim: To study the impact of marital satisfaction in married females with migraine. Methodology: To study unique factors of married life and family dynamics impacting marital satisfaction and migraine in Indian society, we used a novel questionnaire ‘Marital Satisfaction Scale in Migraine’ (MSSM), in this cross-sectional study.  Using a cut-off of MSSM, we identified and divided the cohort into two groups- females with marital satisfaction (FMS) and females with marital dissatisfaction (FMD). We then compared the two groups for migraine-related disability, migraine-related quality of life, and level of depression. Results: We found marital satisfaction to be positively associated with higher age of females, parity, freedom of choice to be a homemaker or working, a better relationship with husband and in-laws. FMS had a significantly lower migraine-related disability, better migraine-related quality of life, and a lower level of mood disturbances than FMD. Conclusion: The impact of marital dissatisfaction on the quality of life of married females with migraines, especially from India is quite different from Western society. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous study which has studied the impact of multiple facets of marital satisfaction in females with migraine.

Keywords: Marital Satisfaction, Migraine, Female Migraineurs, Migraine- disability, Migraine- quality of life.