Sociodemographic characteristics of participants.

ObjectivesWe examined retrospectively recalled characteristics of pre-injury migraine and their association with retrospectively reported post-concussion outcomes.MethodsData for this study was collected based on self-reported recall from a cross-sectional survey design, distributed online via the Prolific platform. Eligible participants (N = 271) completed the Migraine Disability Assessment Test, Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire, Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders short-form, and self-reported return to activities. A MANCOVA compared retrospectively reported concussion outcomes between individuals with and without a self-reported pre-injury migraine diagnosis. Partial correlations assessed associations between retrospectively recalled migraine characteristics and post-concussion outcomes.ResultsCompared to those without a self-reported history of migraine (n = 208), individuals with a self-reported pre-injury migraine diagnosis (n = 61) retrospectively reported significantly greater severity of earlier (p = .007) and later (p = .032) cluster post-concussion symptoms, delayed return to work/school (p = .050) and sports (p ConclusionsIndividuals with a retrospectively reported history of migraine recalled worse concussion outcomes than those without a migraine history. Additionally, more unfavourable recalled pre-injury migraine characteristics were associated with reports of more adverse post-concussion outcomes. These findings highlight the potential value of assessing individuals’ experience with pre-injury migraine when evaluating post-concussion challenges, and the need for future research to examine these relationships using longitudinal designs and objective clinical measures.