How Can Migraine Affect My Work?

Migraine, like other chronic health conditions, takes a tremendous toll on companies across the country. An estimated $13 billion a year can be attributed to the lost work days and decreased productivity of migraine sufferers.⁶ In one three-month study,¹ researchers asked 122 migraine sufferers with regular paid employment to keep a daily record of work days missed due to migraine, as well as their own estimation of reduced productivity on the days they actually attended work with a migraine (lost work day equivalents). Among the findings in the study population:

• The average number of days absent due to headache was 1.1 days/person - a loss of about four workdays/year.¹
• On average, self-reported job effectiveness fell 41 percent because of migraine.¹
• The most disabled 20 percent of sufferers accounted for 77 percent of the days absent.¹
• The most disabled 40 percent experienced 75 percent of lost workday equivalents.¹

Not only are women more likely to get migraines than men, but they also are more likely to experience greater disability.⁶ According to a recent survey of working women by the National Headache Foundation (NHF) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP , 90 percent of the women surveyed who get migraine headaches have attacks at work.⁷ Of these,

• 41 percent cited workplace stress as their most common headache trigger.⁷
• 61 percent said their headaches become so severe they are forced to take time off from work.⁷
• Nearly 80 percent reported lost productivity.⁷

Click here for more results from the NHF/AstraZeneca survey.

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