Migraine is one of the many public health concerns that cause mental disorder, but limited studies have presented evidence associating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with migraines. In the article by McDermott et al. titled “The relation of PTSD symptoms to migraine and headache-related disability among substance dependent inpatients”, as study was done to analyzed the association between PTSD symptoms and migraines to determine if the two are the major causes of disability related to headache. The study recruited 181 participants undergoing substance use disorder treatment within residential settings. The participants completed specific questionnaires with specific features such as age, race, ethnicity, and levels of income. The results of the study revealed that within this population, those with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and migraines are likely to experience to mental disorder.
The study reveals that people who experience migraines are highly likely to develop PTSD. Being the first study to analyze the effects of PTSD and migraine among patients with substance use disorder, they offer better insights of the main causes of mental disability among SUD patients. One of the strengths of this study is the ability to measure a wide range of symptoms associated with PTSD and migraines using structured questionnaires. However, the criteria used to categorize PTSD, migraine symptoms and substance use disorder using self examination was insufficient to provide reliable results. In addition, the study results revealed a minimal relationship between PTSD symptoms and migraine as the major causes of mental disability caused by headaches. Some additional factors were not explored in the study to analyze other risk factors of mental disability caused by headache. The study focused on a specific population; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to other populations.