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NEUROLOGY 1997;48:4S-9S
© 1997 American Academy of Neurology

Burden of migraine

Societal costs and therapeutic opportunities Richard B. Lipton, MD, Walter F. Stewart, PhD and Michael von Korff, ScD

From the Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Headache Unit, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY (Dr. Lipton), Innovative Medical Research, Stamford, CT (Drs. Lipton and Stewart), the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Dr. Stewart), and the Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA (Dr. von Korff).
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Richard B. Lipton, Headache Unit, Montefiore Medical Center, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467.

Abstract.

Article abstract-Migraine imposes an enormous health burden on individual headache sufferers and on society. The condition affects about 18% of women and about 6% of men across their lifespan. Because prevalence peaks during the most productive years, between the ages of 25 and 55, migraine is an important cause of lost work time. Despite the widespread underdiagnosis and undertreatment of migraine, health care costs for the condition are considerable. Add to this the indirect costs, in the form of absenteeism and reduced productivity at work, and the overall burden of migraine becomes apparent. Work loss is not uniformly distributed, with the most disabled half of migraineurs accounting for more than 80% of all work loss. Although improvements in health care delivery for migraine may increase direct cost (i.e., drug or medical care), this may be offset by savings in indirect costs (i.e., reduced and lost productivity).

NEUROLOGY 1997;48(Suppl 3): S4-S9