Article
Migraine drug use, treatment patterns and health care costs: a pharmacoepidemiology study from a large Swiss health insurance database
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Authors
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Carola A. Huber
- Helsana Versicherungen, Gesundheitswissenschaften, Zürich, Switzerland
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Markus Näpflin
- Helsana Group, Health Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland
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Eva Blozik
- Helsana Group, Zürich, Switzerland; University Medical Centre Freiburg
| Published: | October 12, 2018 |
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Outline
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Background: Migraine is one of the most common and highly disabling neurological disorders. In course of the new migraine drug development on the global market it is important to quantify the current burden and associated treatment patterns of migraine drug use.
Aims: A population-based cohort study was used to estimate the prevalence and health care costs of migraine, and to characterize the treatment patterns of patients in need for migraine drugs.
Methods: We used administrative health care claims data from a large health insurance group in Switzerland, covering one million persons, to identify an adult cohort (≥18 years) of migraine drug users, who received at least one triptan prescription in 2015. We estimated the prevalence, comorbid burden and treatment patterns. A multivariable linear regression model with log-transformed outcome was performed to identify factors associated with health care costs.
Results: We identified a total of 10’089 patients suffering from migraine (1-year-prevalence of 1.3%) in need for medical therapy in 2015. Woman had a higher prevalence of migraine in all age groups, but with the highest proportion in the age group “45-54 years” (3.4%). Among migraine patients, the mean total health care costs were highest in older patients with more than two comorbid conditions (CC; >64 years: migraine with >2CC “SFr 15’181”/”EUR 13’967”). Regression analyses revealed that patients’ residence in urban regions and a high number of comorbidities were significantly associated with health care costs.
Discussion and implication: Over 10,000 persons use migraine-specific medication in Switzerland. The present study helps to quantify the economic burden of migraine for the health care system. Findings highlight the need for public health strategies to manage patients with severe chronic diseases. Moreover, results provide data on care needs for patients with migraine and migraine-related costs. This is important, especially in view of forthcoming new and expensive drugs (calcitonin gene-related peptide, CGRP), that may soon be used in the investigated patient population.
