The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) Questionnaire

The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire was developed to measure the effect migraine headaches have on your daily function. It tries to determine how many days of your life were affected to the point that you were unable to function in a way to which you are accustomed. MIDAS takes into account the past three months when asking the questions.

One of the best ways to use this test is to take it at home and then take the results to your healthcare provider. As with all assessment tools of this type, it is not to be used as a substitute for information he may give you, but it can be a way to evaluate the severity of your migraines and how well you are treating them.

MIDAS Questions

These questions are used to determine your score, which then is matched to a level of disability.

1. On how many days in the last 3 months did you miss work or school because your headaches?
2. How many days in the last 3 months was your productivity at work or school reduced by half or more because of your headaches? (Do not include days you counted in question 1 where you missed work or school.)
3. On how many days in the last 3 months did you not do household work because of your headaches?
4. How many days in the last three months was your productivity in household work reduced by half of more because of your headaches? (Do not include days you counted in question 3 where you did not do household work.)
5. On how many days in the last 3 months did you miss family, social or leisure activities because of your headaches?

Once you’ve answered these questions, add up the total number of days to determine your level of “disability.”

• 0 to 5, MIDAS Grade I, Little or no disability
• 6 to 10, MIDAS Grade II, Mild disability
• 11 to 20, MIDAS Grade III, Moderate disability
• 21+, MIDAS Grade IV, Severe disability

These designations are not magical. They don’t automatically determine which migraine treatments you should receive, but they do give your healthcare provider an indication as to how badly they affect your life.

Other Insightful MIDAS Information

The MIDAS questionnaire also includes two other questions that are not used for calculating your disability score, but that give one more way to illustrate to your healthcare provider how migraines affect you.

• On how many days in the last 3 months did you have a headache? (If a headache lasted more than 1 day, count each day.)
• On a scale of 0 to 10, on average how painful were these headaches? (where 0 = no pain at all and 10 = pain as bad as it can be.)

Taken together, all of these questions can give a clear picture to your healthcare provider from which he can begin to treat you in a safe and effective manner. You can complete an online version of the MIDAS questionnaire at the American Headache Society’s website.

If you would prefer to print out a MIDAS questionnaire to take to your healthcare provider, the University of California-Berkley has one you can use.

_Source:

_{Stewart W F, et al. Validity of the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) score in comparison to a diary-based measure in a population sample of migraine sufferers. Pain 2000;88(1):41-52.}