Chronic Migraine: Burden, Comorbidities and Treatment

Aynur Özge; Derya Uludüz; Osman Özgür Yalın; Seden Demirci; Ömer Karadaş; Uğur Uygunoğlu; Aksel Siva

doi:10.4274/tnd.55563

Aynur Özge¹, Derya Uludüz², Osman Özgür Yalın³, Seden Demirci⁴, Ömer Karadaş⁵, Uğur Uygunoğlu², Aksel Siva²

¹Mersin University School of Medicine, Neurology Department, Mersin, Turkey
²İstanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Neurology Department,İstanbul, Turkey
³Health Sciences University, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Neurology, Istanbul, Turkey
⁴Isparta Süleyman Demirel University School of Medicine, Neurology Department, Isparta, Turkey
⁵University of Health Sciences, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Neurology, Ankara, Turkey

Keywords: Chronic migraine, CM, comorbidity, disease burden, treatment

Abstract

Chronic migraine (CM) is defined as headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for more than three months, which, on at least 8 days per month, has the features of migraine headache. In the International Classification of Headache Disorders, CM is defined as a separate entity and the presence of drug overuse headache is removed from being an exclusion criterion. CM accounts for more than 10% of all migraine patients and includes the group with the most prominent disease-related disability. Diagnosis is often overlooked and most patients do not receive appropriate treatment. CM is associated with social and economic burdens such as frequent use of health services, drug overuse, and significant disruption to work and school life. Compared with episodic migraine, more frequent comorbid disorders are important in migraine chronicity, treatment, and course. With appropriate treatment in CM, it is possible to increase the quality of life of the patient and to reduce the social economic burden associated with migraine. In this review, the disease burden of CM, accompanying comorbid diseases, and current treatment options are reviewed.