Burden of Illness with Migraine "Substantial"

People who experienced migraine 4 or more days per month reported a considerable burden of illness and higher indirect healthcare costs, according to a study abstract in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.

“Migraine is a chronic condition that disrupts health-related quality of life. It is the seventh global cause of years of life lost to disability,” researchers wrote. “Additionally, it is the most burdensome disease among neurological causes evaluated in the Global Burden of Disease study.”

For the study, researchers aimed to identify the burden of illness among people who experienced migraine at least 4 days over the past month despite migraine medication. Data used in the study was from the nationally representative 2016 US National Health and Wellness Survey. Researchers compared respondents who self-reported a migraine diagnosis, had a prescription for migraine treatment, and experienced 4 or more headache days in the past month with control subjects without migraine matched for demographics and health characteristics.

People with migraine reported a statistically significant higher rate of depression diagnoses, long-term disability, work productivity losses, activity impairment, absenteeism, presenteeism, and overall work impairment compared with matched controls without migraine, the study found. Higher work productivity losses among respondents with migraine resulted in higher estimated annual indirect costs and healthcare utilization.

“The overall burden associated with migraine is substantial despite the availability of treatment options,” researchers result. “As a result, patients treated for migraine incurred substantially greater direct and indirect costs compared to non-migraine controls.”

The study, which was sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals, was presented at AMCP Nexus 2018.

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Fitzgerald T, Lee L, Bell J, Cohen J. Burden of illness among treated migraine patients with ≥4 headache days in the past month. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy. 2018;24(10-a):S58.

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