ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF MIGRAINE

We sent an anonymous self-administered questionnaire to 4200 employees of a Trust hospital, 1903 of whom returned it. We identified 158 migr aine sufferers according to International Headache Society (IHS) crite ria. These sufferers estimated 2.0 days/year absence from work, and an equivalent of 5.5 days/year lost by reduced effectiveness at work, ca used by their migraine at an estimated financial cost of over pound 50 ,000 to the Trust. An additional 220 individuals who had received a di agnosis of migraine from a doctor but fulfilled only 3/4 IHS criteria lost the equivalent of 6.7 days off work at a further cost of pound 63 ,000). Few patients had consulted their general practitioner about the ir migraines in the last 3 months, Most (78%) were using only over-the -counter medication. Migraine patients should be encouraged to seek me dical attention.