Plain Language Summary Publication: Perceived discrimination and migraine-specific quality of life: A cross-sectional survey study in a Black/African American sample

Main Finding:

Higher levels of perceived discrimination, both in daily life and in the medical setting, are associated with poorer migraine-specific quality of life among Black and African American individuals. These findings highlight the importance of addressing discrimination as a factor in managing migraine outcomes and improving the quality of life in these populations.¹

Motivation (Problem):

Black and African American individuals with migraine disease face multiple challenges, including inequitable access to care and discrimination by healthcare providers. These chronic stressors can worsen pain, reduce quality of life, and contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes. However, little research has explored how perceived discrimination specifically impacts the quality of life for Black and African American people with migraine. Understanding these associations is critical for developing more equitable and culturally sensitive healthcare practices.

Methods:

This study recruited 91 Black and African American adults with a migraine diagnosis from a specialized headache care center. Participants completed surveys measuring migraine-specific quality of life, lifetime experiences of discrimination, and discrimination within medical settings. Information on headache frequency and pain intensity was also collected. Relationships between discrimination measures and migraine-related quality of life were analyzed while also taking into account factors including how severe the person’s headache pain was, how often they had headaches, and whether the person was male or female.

Results:

Participants who reported higher levels of perceived discrimination, whether across the lifetime or in medical settings, also reported lower migraine-specific quality of life. Although specific numbers are not included here, these relationships were statistically meaningful and unlikely to be due to chance. Of the other factors considered, only headache pain severity was significantly related to reduced quality of life. In contrast, headache frequency and sex at birth were not related to quality of life in our sample. Together, perceived discrimination and pain explained a notable portion of the variation in how migraine affects quality of life.

Implications (for the future):

These findings underscore the need for healthcare providers to recognize and address the impact of discrimination on migraine care. Culturally sensitive training and strategies to reduce explicit and implicit bias in medical settings are critical for improving outcomes. Future research should explore interventions that target the burden of discrimination on migraine, particularly for Black/African Americans, to reduce disparities and enhance quality of life. Additionally, although this study focused specifically on Black and African American adults, future research is needed to understand whether similar patterns exist in other racial and ethnic groups.