People with cluster headache take twice as many sick days
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People with cluster headache take twice the number of sick days as those without the disorder, according to a study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers also found that women with cluster headache took nearly twice as many sick days as men, suggesting that they may experience cluster headaches differently, according to Christina Sjöstrand, MD, PhD, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues.
Sjöstrand told Healio Primary Care that the findings suggest that “besides the burden of pain, [cluster headache] might also result in loss of income and other consequences from sick and disability days.
“Despite being a periodic disease for most sufferers, it clearly interferes with people’s capacity to work,” she continued.
Cluster headache — which affects approximately one in every 1,000 people in the United States — is a painful headache disorder that includes headache attacks that can last from 15 minutes to 3 hours, according to the press release.
Sjöstrand and colleagues conducted a population-based study using data from two Swedish national registries to identify health care visits for cluster headache between 2001 and 2010 and to assess the number of sick and disability days used in 2010. They matched a total of 3,240 people aged 16 to 64 years with cluster headaches with 16,200 people who did not have a cluster headache diagnosis.
In addition to examining sick days, Sjöstrand and colleagues also examined disability pension — which allows to people in Sweden with an illness or injury that will affect their ability to work long term or permanently to work less hours — used by people with cluster headache.
Researchers found that participants with cluster headache took 16.13 sick days (95% CI; 14.05-18.20), significantly more than the 6.54 sick days (95% CI, 5.97-7.11) used by those without cluster headache.
The mean combined number of sick days and disability pension days used by those with cluster headache was also significantly higher (63.15; 95% CI, 58.84-67.45) compared with those without cluster headache (34.08; 95% CI, 32.59-35.57), according to Sjöstrand and colleagues.
Researchers discovered that education level influenced the number of combined sick and disability pension days used by people with cluster headache, with those who had an elementary school education taking more sick days (85.88; 95% CI, 75.34-96.42) compared with those with a high school (64.89; 95% CI, 58.82-70.97) and college education (41.42; 95% CI, 34.70-48.15).
Although cluster headaches were more common in men, Sjöstrand and colleagues found that women took 23.71 sick days (95% CI, 19.36-28.06), nearly twice the 12.41 days (95% CI, 10.19-14.63) taken by men.
When comparing combined sick and disability pension days, they determined that women with cluster headache took 83.71 days (95% CI, 75.57-91.84) and men with cluster headache took 52.56 days (95% CI, 47.62-57.51).
“The reason for these sex differences in working capacity for patients with cluster headache are unclear and further studies are needed,” Sjöstrand said. “Apparently, we do not yet have a full picture of possible sex differences in cluster headache.”
She explained that research is also needed to develop new drugs and therapies for cluster headache, along with potential ways to adapt working conditions during active cluster periods. – by Erin Michael
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.