ABSTRACT
Background:
Depression and maladaptive schemas were found to worsen the pain experience in individuals with chronic pain.
Objectives:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms, early maladaptive schemas, distress and discomfort tolerance in female patients with migraine.
Methods:
Seventy eight female migraine patients(37 depressed and 41 non-depressed subjects according to BDI scores) and 55 healthy controls were evaluated with Numeric Pain Rating Scale(NPRS),Beck Depression Inventory(BDI),Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form-3(YSQ-SF-3),Discomfort Intolerance Scale(DIS) and Distress Tolerance Scale(DTS).
Results:
Distress and discomfort tolerance were lower in both migraine groups than control subjects. EMSs were higher in depressed migraine patients than in non-depressed migraine group and non-clinical controls. A positive correlation between BDI and YSQ-SF-3 scores(p<0.001), a negative correlation between BDI and DIS(p<0.01), and also a negative correlation between BDI and DTS(p<0.001) were found among migraine patients. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that 20% of the depressive symptoms were explained with DIS scores, while explanatoriness raised up to 46% by addition of YSQ-SF-3 scores to the model.
Discussion:
Cognitive interventions for modifying EMSs and improving distress and discomfort tolerance might be added to the treatment strategies in female migraine patients.
Keywords:
Migraine; depression; schema; distress tolerance; discomfort intolerance