Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Study Participants.
| Baseline characteristic | No. (%)a | |
|---|---|---|
| MBSR (n = 45) | Headache education (n = 44) | |
| Sociodemographics | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 44 (12) | 44 (14) |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 42 (93) | 40 (91) |
| Male | 3 (7) | 4 (9) |
| Race | ||
| White | 40 (89) | 39 (89) |
| Black or African American | 5 (11) | 5 (11) |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 2 (4) | 4 (9) |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 43 (96) | 40 (91) |
| Primary health insurance | ||
| Private | 40 (89) | 33 (75) |
| Medicare/Medicaid/other public | 5 (11) | 9 (20) |
| None | 0 | 2 (5) |
| Marital status | ||
| Married/living with partner | 31 (69) | 26 (59) |
| Divorced/separated/widowed | 6 (13) | 8 (18) |
| Single, never married | 8 (18) | 10 (23) |
| Household incomeb | ||
| <$15 000 | 4 (9) | 4 (9) |
| $15 000-49 999 | 9 (20) | 13 (30) |
| $50 000-149 999 | 23 (51) | 22 (50) |
| >$150 000 | 9 (20) | 4 (9) |
| Current employment statusc | ||
| Employed/self-employed full time (>30 h/wk) | 30 (67) | 25 (57) |
| Employed part time | 4 (9) | 5 (11) |
| Student, homemaker, volunteer | 7 (16) | 3 (7) |
| Unemployed, retired | 2 (4) | 7 (16) |
| Education | ||
| ≤High school | 3 (7) | 2 (5) |
| College | 28 (62) | 30 (68) |
| Graduate degree | 14 (31) | 12 (27) |
| Recruitment source | ||
| Academic medical center/clinician referrald | 20 (44) | 23 (52) |
| Communitye | 25 (56) | 21 (48) |
| Baseline physiology, mean (SD)f | ||
| Body mass index | 27 (8) | 29 (7) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 120 (16.5) | 122 (12.9) |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 73 (11.4) | 73 (8.8) |
| Heart rate, beats/min | 73 (13) | 78 (13) |
| Headache features | ||
| Years with migraine, mean (SD) | 24 (13) | 24 (14) |
| Migraine with aura | 16 (36) | 18 (41) |
| Family history of headache | 31 (69) | 28 (64) |
| Headache days during 28-d baseline, mean (SD) | 9.5 (3.4) | 9.8 (3.6) |
| Migraine days during 28-d baseline, mean (SD) | 7.2 (2.5) | 7.4 (3.0) |
| Use of treatments | ||
| Current use of prophylactic treatmentg | 18 (40) | 31 (71) |
| Daily medication | 11 (24) | 22 (50) |
| No. of daily prophylactic medications, mean (SD) | 1.3 (0.6) | 1.5 (0.6) |
| Procedures (Botox/occipital nerve blocks) | 5 (11) | 5 (11) |
| Supplement | 10 (22) | 14 (32) |
| Current use of acute medicationg | 41 (91) | 36 (82) |
| Triptan | 25 (56) | 31 (70) |
| Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory | 28 (62) | 19 (44) |
| Antinausea | 8 (18) | 7 (16) |
| No. of previously tried daily prophylactic medications, mean (SD) | 2.8 (1.7) | 3.2 (2.4) |
| No. of previously tried acute medications, mean (SD) | 4.9 (3.1) | 4.9 (3.2) |
| No. of previously tried integrative treatments, mean (SD)h | 3.6 (2.5) | 4.3 (2.9) |
| Experienced headache medication side effect | 25 (56) | 31 (71) |
| Of those with triggers, No. of triggers, mean (SD)i | 7.2 (2.7) | 6.4 (3.3) |
| Stress or let-down stress as a trigger | 35 (78) | 31 (71) |
| Comorbid conditions | ||
| Current or past diagnosis of depression | 19 (42) | 19 (43) |
| Current or past diagnosis of anxiety | 15 (33) | 19 (43) |
Abbreviation: MBSR, mindfulness-based stress reduction.
No. (%) reported unless otherwise specified.
Based on n = 43 for headache education (n = 1 [2%] of data missing).
Based on n = 43 for MBSR (n = 2 [4%] of data missing); based on n = 40 for headache education (n = 4 [9%] of data missing).
Clinician recruitment included direct referrals, referrals through electronic medical record, through the Wake Forest Be Involved clinical trial registry, through the electronic medical record, or from prior headache research recruitment. See Supplement 1 for further details.
Community recruitment included flyers, social media (Facebook/Twitter), email listservs from local organizations, television advertising, magazines, online advertisements, and friends/family referrals. See Supplement 1 for further details.
Blood pressure and heart rate measurements are from baseline visit.
Percentages do not add to 100 as individuals may be on more than 1 treatment. Prophylactic treatment options included daily migraine medication, regular onabotulinum toxin A or occipital nerve blocks, or daily use of a migraine supplement. Calcitonin gene-related peptide medications were not yet US Food and Drug Administration approved at study initiation; we screened out participants with medication overuse headache, excluding patients who may have been taking opioids.
Integrative treatments included acupuncture/acupressure, physical therapy, stress reduction, ice/cold compresses, yoga, meditation, deep breathing, massage, chiropractic, biofeedback, supplements (including magnesium, riboflavin, coenzyme Q10, feverfew, butterbur, melatonin), or other.
Triggers included menses, caffeine, weather changes, alcohol, too little sleep, too much sleep, hunger, missed meals, psychological stress, “let down” after stressful period, food additives, light glare, odors, altitude, exercise, certain food, sex, other.