Effect of a mindfulness-based intervention for chronic migraine and high frequency episodic migraine in adolescents: a pilot single-arm open-label study.
Open accessAbstract
In this single-arm pilot open-label study we examined the effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on reduction of headache frequency after 12 months in adolescents aged 12–18 with chronic or high-frequency migraine without aura. Adolescents were recruited at the headache center of the C. Besta Neurological Institute and followed-up for 12 months. The mindfulness-based intervention was delivered in small groups and consisted of six weekly group sessions of guided meditation, and one booster session 15 days after. Patients filled in questionnaires assessing headache frequency (primary endpoint), medication intake, disability, anxiety, depression, catastrophizing, and caregivers’ burden. Within-person ANOVA was used to address variation of endpoints over time. Thirty-five out of 37 patients completed the study for primary endpoints, and 33 for secondary endpoints. Headache frequency dropped from 21.3 (95% CI 18.5; 24.1) to 9.6 (95% CI 6.1; 13.1) days per month at 12 months (F = 30.5, p < 0.001); 23 patients out of 35 (65.7%) achieved a headache frequency reduction greater than or equal to 50%. Significant improvements were also reported for medication intake (F = 18.7, p < 0.001), disability (F = 3.8, p = 0.027), trait anxiety (F = 5.1, p = 0.009), symptoms of depression (F = 9.5, p < 0.001), and catastrophizing (F = 23.6, p < 0.001). In conclusions, our study shows a reduction of headache attacks in adolescents who follow a mindfulness-based program, suggesting benefit of this nonpharmacological approach.
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The trial was open-label and did not involve blind methods.
“Since the mindfulness course requires the students of intervention group to participate in and receive training, this study is an open-label trial, which does not involve blind methods (35).”
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- Authors
- Grazzi, L., Grignani, E., Raggi, A., Rizzoli, P., & Guastafierro, E.
- Affiliations
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta (IT)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Grazzi, Licia
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-11-09
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 11739
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8619568
- OpenAlex
- W3212785248
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 1.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Ministero della Salute (Linea 4)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Migraine and Headache Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Complementary and Manual Therapy › Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based interventions, chronic migraine, episodic migraine, adolescents, headache frequency, guided meditation, group therapy, migraine disability, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, caregiver burden, non-pharmacological treatment
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Anxiety, Headache, Humans, Migraine Disorders, Meditation, Mindfulness
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