Higher migraine frequency linked to greater functional impairment in Canadian adults

Key takeaways:

• Survey included 1,119 Canadian residents with migraine, who self-reported monthly headache day frequency.
• Higher frequency of migraine was significantly associated with greater functional impairment.

AUSTIN, Texas — Migraine significantly affects work life and career in Canadian residents, with greater effect among those with more headache days per month, according to a poster at the American Headache Society annual meeting.

“Migraine is a leading cause of presenteeism and absenteeism and has a significant impact in the workplace,” Elizabeth Leroux, MD, FRCPC, a headache specialist at Brunswick Medical Center in Montreal, and colleagues wrote.

According to researchers, WHO recognizes migraine as first cause of years lived with disability in those younger than 50 years, prompting them to assess the impact of migraine on the work life of Canadians.

They developed an online survey of 106 questions evaluating several aspects of life with migraine, including monthly headache day frequency (MHDF) and employment and disability status. The survey was distributed among Migraine Canada and Migraine Quebec networks and to headache clinics throughout the country, between Sept. 16 and Oct. 31, 2021. Eligible participants had a medical diagnosis of migraine and Canadian residency.

According to results, 1,119 individuals (93.5% women; 92.6% white) completed the survey and were grouped according to MHDF: 1 to 7 days (19.2%), 8 to 14 (27.6%), 15 to 22 (26.4%) and 23 to 30 (26.7%). Most worked full time (46.2%), while the remainder worked part time (11.2%), were on short- or long-term disability (16.9%), retired (13.8%), unemployed (5.2%), students (3.7%) or homemakers (3%).

Researchers reported that a higher MHDF category corresponded with higher scores on an 11-point impact of migraine on function scale, indicating greater impairment (P < .001).

Further, 38.8% of those surveyed reported migraine limited their ability to remain with a job, 34.6% said migraine affected their career choice and 18.5% said it limited their ability to find work. Conversely, just 20.8% of respondents stated migraine had no impact on their career. Among respondents on disability, 81% stated migraine was the reason.

“Migraines has a significant impact on the work life of Canadians,” Leroux and colleagues wrote. “The severity of impact increased as MDHF category increased.”