Migraine is one of the most common diseases worldwide and, importantly, a major cause of disability. This translates into a huge clinical and economic burden to individuals and society. Despite existing data on how migraine affects populations, the disease continues to be underdiagnosed and therefore undertreated, so the scale of the public health problem may be underestimated. The impact on the daily lives of patients and their families has also been underappreciated. Clinical and regulatory guidelines are encouraging the use of patient-reported outcome tools (PROs), as these may help in disease management and facilitate physician-patient interactions. In clinical trials in migraine, PRO data are key to evaluating the effects of new therapies on patients, such as disability assessment, productivity, quality of life, and emotional and physical functioning. Digital technologies have enabled the development of ePRO tools, which may play a growing role in the collection of PRO data in the future. Here, we will consider the current view of the burden imposed by migraine on patients and society, illustrate this with two patient case studies, and examine the initiatives underway to use our knowledge to improve our management approaches for the disease.
Keywords: disability; disease burden; epidemiology; migraine; patient-reported outcomes; quality of life.
© 2018 American Headache Society.