Background : There is no clear negative impact of Medication Overuse Headache (MOH) on Quality of Life (QoL).

Objective : The aim of this study was to identify clinical and headache-related parameters that directly affect the HRQoL of MOH patients.

Patients and methods: A total of 183 patients (111 men and 72 women) first diagnosed with MOH and 81 healthy subjects (22 men and 59 women) in the Control Group (CG) were enrolled in this study. The age of the study subjects ranged from 18 to 71 years. HRQoL was assessed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36), which includes the Physical Composite Score (PCS), Mental Composite Score (MCS) and Total Score (TS).

Results : The HRQoL of all patients (PCS, MCS, TS) was lower in the MOH than in the CG (p < 0.001). In the MOH, depression itself was a risk factor for all aspects of HRQoL according to the PCS (B = -0.70, 95% CI -1.32 - 0.08, p = 0.027); for the MCS (B = -0.71, 95% CI -1.14 - - 0.29, p = 0.001); and for the TS (B = -0.69, 95% CI -1.16 - - 0.22, p = 0.005)), with female sex being an associated risk factor only for PCS (B = -15.47, 95% CI -26.79 - - 4.14, p = 0.008). The results did not reveal a predictive role of anxiety, stress, or ruminative style of thinking for HRQoL in MOH patients (p > 0.05).

Conclusion : Screening for depression among MOH patients and treatment could be useful for improving their HRQoL.