Migraine Frequency and Health Utilities: Findings from a Multisite Survey

doi:10.1111/j.1524-4733.2007.00246.x

If you are seeing this message, you may be experiencing temporary network problems. Please wait a few minutes and refresh the page. If the problem persists, you may wish to report it to your local Network Manager.

It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. In this case, although the visual presentation will be degraded, the site should continue to be functional. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft or Mozilla web browser to help minimise these problems.

Wiley InterScience

Value in Health

Volume 11 Issue 2, Pages 315 - 321

Published Online: 21 Jul 2007

Published on behalf of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research

Go to Society Site

< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >

Save Article to My Profile Download Citation Request Permissions

Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 106K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking

Migraine Frequency and Health Utilities: Findings from a Multisite Survey

Jeffrey S. Brown, PhD, ¹ Peter J. Neumann, ScD, ² George Papadopoulos, BSc (Hons), ³ Gary Ruoff, MD, ⁴ Merle Diamond, MD, ⁵ Joseph Menzin, PhD ⁶

¹ Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA, USA; ² Tufts-New England Medical Center Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy, Boston, MA, USA; ³ Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ, USA; ⁴ Westside Family Medical Center, Kalamazoo, MI, USA; ⁵ Diamond Headache Clinic, Chicago, IL, USA; ⁶ Boston Health Economics, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA

Correspondence to Joseph Menzin, Boston Health Economics, Inc., 20 Fox Road, Waltham, MA 02451, USA. E-mail: jmenzin@bhei.com

Disclosures: Drs. Brown, Neumann, Ruoff, and Menzin report no disclosures. G. Papadopoulos was an employee of the sponsor at the time the study was conducted and has an equity stake in the sponsor of over $10,000. Dr. Diamond has received grants and honoraria of <$10,000 from the sponsor.

KEYWORDS

health utility • HUI • migraine • quality of life

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Assess the relationship between migraine frequency and health utility.

Methods: Patients aged ≥18 years diagnosed with episodic migraine were enrolled at three US sites representing varied models of health-care delivery. All subjects completed a questionnaire that included demographic and clinical information, a migraine-specific disability questionnaire, and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). The HUI3 is a generic health status and health-related quality-of-life measure. HUI3 health status data are translated into utility scores anchored by 0 (dead) and 1 (perfect health).

Results: The study enrolled 150 patients. The mean age was 44 years and 87% were female. Mean (±SD) monthly migraine frequency was 4.4 ± 3.6, with 34% reporting ≤2 migraines per month and 20% reporting >6 migraines per month. The mean (±SD) HUI3 score was 0.62 ± 0.26. After controlling for study center, demographics, comorbidities, migraine characteristics, and level of migraine disruptiveness, migraine frequency was found to be significantly (P < 0.05) and negatively associated with HUI3 scores. Subjects with >6 migraines per month had an adjusted mean HUI3 score of 0.41; the corresponding mean for those reporting ≤2 migraines per month was 0.67. Migraine frequency was positively associated with higher levels of disability for the emotion, cognition, and pain components of the HUI3.

Conclusions: Among this group of care-seeking patients, migraineurs' health utilities were inversely related to headache frequency. Although these data may not be generalizable to the entire migraine population, they may be useful in assessing the comparative cost-effectiveness of preventive migraine therapies.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1524-4733.2007.00246.x About DOI