Compared with non-migraine families, the spouse of a migraine sufferer had 24 percent higher health care costs, the child of a migraine-suffering parent had 11 percent higher costs and the parent of a migraine-suffering child had 26 percent higher costs.
The number of lost workdays, short-term disability days and worker’s compensation claims were also higher in migraine families
Even among those whose children were the only migraine sufferers, “there were 11 percent more short-term disability days and absenteeism was 35 percent higher than in non-migraine families with children,” Stang says.
The researchers analyzed information on patient diagnoses and costs in a large national database. They compared 73,094 families with at least one member with migraines to a control group of 200,094 families without a migraine sufferer.
Migraine affects about 18 percent of women and 6 percent of men in the United States, according to the report.
Health Behavior News Service
