BACKGROUND: Migraine, characterized by recurrent, severe headaches, presents a considerable challenge for patients, health care systems, and employers in the United States. However, there is a lack of recent estimates of the economic and humanistic burden in this population.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the incremental burden of migraine on the total all-cause health care costs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the United States, using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
METHOD: This retrospective cross-sectional study included adults (���18 years) with and without migraine on the 2019-2021 full-year consolidated MEPS Household Component and Medical Provider Component data files. Descriptive analyses were conducted to compare health care expenditures and HRQoL among patients with and without migraine. To estimate the marginal effect of migraine on total health care spending, a two-part model generalized linear models was employed. HRQoL was evaluated using physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores based on the items in the Veterans Rand 12 Health Survey. A multivariate linear regression with log-link was conducted to understanding the factors associated with PCS and MCS scores. All analyses accounted for complex survey design of MEPS.
RESULTS: The study included approximately 1.14 million patients with migraine and approximately 184 million patients without migraine. The patients with migraine were majorly female (82.81%), aged 18-45 years (50.24%), and residing in the southern region of the United States (41.45%). A two-part model revealed that marginal total health care expenditures among patients with migraine were $6,078.56 (95% CI = $4,618.45-$8,141.34) higher compared with those without migraine. In terms of HRQoL, average PCS scores in migraine and nonmigraine groups were 39.79 and 42.15, respectively. The average MCS scores were 46.63 and 49.95 for migraine and nonmigraine groups, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, multivariable linear regression models revealed that the PCS score was 2.14 (95% CI = 1.17-4.55) units lower, and the MCS score was 3.19 (95% CI = 2.51-6.07) units lower among patients with migraine compared with those without.
CONCLUSIONS: Migraine imposes a substantial economic burden on both health care payers and patients in the United States. Notably, prescription drugs make up nearly half of the overall cost. Additionally, patients with migraine experience lower levels of physical and mental HRQoL compared with those without migraine.
