Objective:

To compare the populations of individuals with chronic migraine and with other migraine headache types to a matched reference (comparator) population with regards to migraine-specific costs of care.

Background:

Migraine with its high prevalence rate (~14%) imposes high burden and cost on patients and the healthcare system. Given the limited availability of such data we conducted an in-depth analysis of a substantial US payer dataset.

Design/Methods:

We analyzed recent (8/1/2018 - 7/31/2021) medical and pharmacy data from Health Verity for N=187,780. Baseline and Follow-up are defined as 12 months prior to and after the Index, respectively. Migraine cases were matched to a control group on demographic, geographic, comorbidity, and time-based variables. N = 76,684 migraine cases matched to 76,684 non-migraine controls.

Results:

At Baseline migraine group  had significantly higher costs of care in every category measured: inpatient ($160.02 PPPY (per-patient-per-year); 28.7% higher) , emergency department ($261.16 PPPY; 244.4% higher), PCP visits ($400.75 PPPY; 125.3% higher), neurology visits ($92.66 PPPY; 954.6% higher)., other outpatient visits ($1,507.50 PPPY; 125.9% higher),  other medical services ($212.20 PPPY; 105.3% higher), and pharmacy. Compared to controls, all-cause medical care and all-cause pharmacy costs were 110.1% and 71.9% higher among migraine cases. Total healthcare costs were $3,401.19 higher among cases than controls, a difference of 98.3% higher costs. Similar results were noted for differences in costs in the Follow-Up period.

Conclusions:

This retrospective cohort analysis underscores the significant economic burden imposed by migraine during both baseline and follow-up periods across all tested categories. Our findings suggest the persistent impact of migraine on healthcare costs, emphasizing the pressing need for effective strategies to manage treatment solutions more efficiently for individuals grappling with migraine.