What Is Migraine Epidemiology? 2023
Migraine is a universal human problem producing great disability and expenditure of monetary resources on visits to doctors and medication.
This is an article by Britt Talley Daniel MD, member of the American Academy of Neurology, migraine textbook author, podcaster, YouTube video producer, and blogger.
Read my Mini Book Here.
Migraine Epidemiology: List of comments:
Prevalence
The prevalence of Migraine for one year in the United States is 12%.
Prevalence is 18.2% among women and 6.5% among men.
Prevalence increased from age 12 years to about age 40 years and declined thereafter in both sexes.
Migraine is most prevalent between the ages of 30 and 49.
Approximately 23% of all households have at least one member suffering from Migraine.
Ageing effect of Migraine-Prevalence increased from age 12 years to about age 40 years and declined thereafter in both sexes.
Disabling Effect of Migraine
Impairment was claimed by 53% of Migraine affected persons in that their severe headaches caused substantial impairment in activities or required bed rest.
Work or school loss of approximately 31% missed at least 1 day of work or school in the previous 3 months because of migraine while 51% reported that work or school productivity was reduced by at least 50%.
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that their severe headaches caused substantial impairment in activities or required bed rest.
Migraine brings remarkable short-term disability with 50% to 95% having trouble functioning during an attack.
More than half of patients experience disability or the need to go to bed during an attack.
In the US annual lost productivity due to migraine costs 13 billion dollars, while direct costs are thought to be 2.5 billion dollars.
Approximately 31% missed at least 1 day of work or school in the previous 3 months because of migraine while 51% reported that work or school productivity was reduced by at least 50%.
Migraine frequency in comparison with other medical illnesses
Migraine is more common than osteoarthritis (present in 7% of the population), Diabetes (present in 6%) and asthma (present in 7%).
Unfortunately Migraine is underdiagnosed so that about 48% of migraine patients have been diagnosed while 56% have not. 50% of migraine suffers get sinus symptoms, which along with inaccurate TV ads on pseudoephedrine for “Sinus Headache” tricks them into thinking they have a sinus condition when they really have Migraine.
The peak age of involvement for women is 42 years old, while in men it is 38.
Frequency can range from one attack a year to two or three a week. 25% of women and 6% of men have Migraine. For women, Migraine is their most frequent medical problem.
Problem of Migraine treatment
Migraine is undertreated in the US population.
57% of migraineurs use over the-counter medications while preventive medications were rarely used—only in 20% of patients.
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, taken from 1976-1977, found that 4% of all visits to physicians’ offices—which was over 10 million visits per year—were for headache.
Migraine also causes high utilization of emergency room care.
Summary
Migraine is a frequently occurring, severely effecting, often times disabling neurologic condition.
Check out my Big Migraine Book, which has a chapter on epidemiology, Here.
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All the best.
Britt Talley Daniel MD