Abstract

Background
Although photophobia is a main component of migraine classification and ID-migraine, previous literature reported lower incidence rate(about 40%) in Korean patients with migraine than inte- rnational studies with Caucasian patients Objectives: This study was performed to compare the photophobia incidence rate detected by simple interview in Korean migraineurs with that detected by a specific photophobia questionnaire. Methods: Seventy-four migraine patients with mean age of 39.8±17.36 years were enrolled in this study. After simple interview by a headache specialist, patients were asked to report the questionnaire, which is comprised of 8 items. Seven items are questions about various symptoms, avoidance and as a triggering factor related to light during migraine attacks, and one item is a question if the symptom occurs during interictal period. Results: A total of 40(54.1%) patients noted photophobia through the simple interview, and all of them reported 　yes　 to at least 1 item in the questionnaire. Fifty-three(85.1%) patients were revealed as having photophobia by the questionnaire. Of these 53 patients, 23 had same symptoms in headache-free period. Conclusion: Similar photophobia incidence with Caucasian was revealed by the questionnaire. The questionnaire may be used as sensitive method to help detect photophobia in Korean.