Impact of migraine and migraine therapy on productivity and quality of life

Migraine is an expensive disorder in terms of lost productivity and its del eterious impact on health-related quality of life (QOL). In addition to los t wages and productivity due to absenteeism, many patients with migraine al so experience reduced productivity while at work and disruption of their fa mily, social, and leisure activities. Even a migraine of moderate intensity can impair function and productivity, which emphasizes the importance of t herapy that achieves complete, as opposed to partial, pain relief. Rapid on set of complete relief with abatement of migraine-associated symptoms has b een reported to be most relevant for patient QOL and satisfaction with migr aine therapy. Several instruments have been developed for measuring health- related QOL. Both general and migraine-specific instruments have been usefu l in assessing the impact of migraine and migraine therapy on health-relate d QOL; migraine-specific instruments may be more sensitive in measuring the effects of pharmacologic intervention. Compared with placebo, rizatriptan improved productivity in migraine patients. Compared with usual care, rizat riptan had favorable effects on all five domains of the 24-Hour Migraine Qu ality of Life questionnaire.