Migraine sufferers report worse health-related quality of life than the general population and have similar health status scores as people with debilitating chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease.

A recent study, "Migraine frequency and health utilities: findings from a multi-site survey," published in Value in Health, surveyed 150 migraine patients in the U.S. to study how migraine frequency affects quality of life. The study was co-authored by Jeffrey Brown, PhD (Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care), Peter J. Neumann, ScD (Tufts-New England Medical Center Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy), George Papadopoulos (Schering-Plough Corporation), Gary Ruoff, MD (Westside Family Medical Center), Merle Diamond, MD (Diamond Headache Clinic), and Joseph Menzin, PhD (Boston Health Economics, Inc.).

The lead author, Dr. Brown, says, "We found that 45% of patients reported that their migraines were moderately or very disruptive to their families and friends. The health status of these patients was similar to that of patients with other chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. These findings help quantify the substantial impact that migraine headache has on sufferers and their families and friends, and highlights the need for effective migraine treatment and prevention."

Approximately 6% of men and 18% of women experience a migraine headache during their lifetime, and many experience multiple migraines every month. Patients in this study had an average of 4 migraines per month. The study used the Health Utilities Index (HUI) questionnaire, a generic and widely used instrument that covers vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition, and pain. Patients had an average HUI score of 0.62 on a scale of 0 (representing death) to 1 (representing perfect health). This is worse than scores reported in other studies of the general population (0.78 for those aged 45 to 64 years), patients with heart disease (0.66), and patients with Type 2 diabetes (0.64). Among this group of patients, health status worsened significantly as headache frequency increased.

Boston Health Economics, Inc. (BHE), an independent research and consulting firm based in Waltham, Massachusetts, was responsible for survey development, oversight of data collection, and analyses of results. BHE is a research and consulting firm specializing in the economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and related interventions. Financial support for this article was from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Pharmaceutical Services, LLC, Raritan, NJ.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 3,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

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Value in Health Volume 11 Issue 3
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