Just the Facts: Migraine Awareness

Just the Facts 10% of people worldwide suffer from migraine. About one-third of sufferers experience an aura before migraine onset. Migraine is in the top 20 of the world’s most disabling illnesses. If one parent suffers from migraine, a child has a 40% chance of suffering. If both parents have migraine, a child has a 90% chance of developing migraine. Half of migraine sufferers have their first attack before the age of 12 years.

Sex Matters Before puberty, boys suffer from migraine more often than girls. When estrogen influence begins in girls, their risk of migraine increases. The average age at onset of migraine is 7.2 for boys and 10.9 for girls. Women are 3 times more likely than men to suffer from migraine. Migraine affects 30% of women over a lifetime. Approximately 18% of women and 6% of men in the US suffer from migraine.

United States of Migraine 36 million Americans suffer from migraine, about 12% of the population. 4% of people who seek treatment for migraine consult headache and pain specialists. About 1 in 7 Americans suffer migraine or severe headache annually. Almost 1 in 4 US households include someone who experiences migraine. In fiscal year 2014, the NIH spent $20 million on migraine research, less than 1% of their budget. Migraine costs an estimated $20 million per year due to direct medical expenses and indirect expenses, such as missed work and lost productivity.

In the Works Topofen, a pain-relieving gel, is in the pipeline for treating migraine (a clinical stage product). Zecuity is a patch that delivers sumatriptan through the skin by a mild electric current (at present, not available to consumers). Levadex is a drug that can be inhaled into the lungs (not currently approved by the FDA).