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Migraine - Management

2 MIN

Patient adherence to preventive migraine therapy

Research suggests that 40% of patients with migraine could benefit from using preventive therapies, but only 13% receive them.1 The aim of preventive migraine therapy is to reduce headache frequency, severity, and intensity; prevent progression; and restore function.2 However, many preventive therapies are
non-migraine-specific, and many patients have poor adherence to and persistence with their treatment.3–6 

The impact of poor adherence to preventive therapies

Poor adherence has been shown to cause poor health outcomes in patients with migraine, as well as increasing their economic, functional and emotional burden.7,8 Persistence with therapy frequently worsens as patients cycle through preventive treatment options, meaning those who discontinue therapies due to prior treatment failure are faced with a substantial impact on their quality of life.6,8 Therefore, improving patient adherence to and persistence with treatment remains crucial to the success of preventive
migraine therapies.

Watch the video below to find out more about adherence and persistence to preventive migraine therapies.

References

  1. VanderPluym J, Evans RW, Starling AJ. Long-term use and safety of migraine preventive medications. Headache 2016;56:1335–43.

  2. Mitsikostas DD, Rapoport AM. New players in the preventive treatment of migraine. BMC Med 2015;13:279.

  3. Orlando V, Mucherino S, Monetti VM, Trama U, Menditto E. Treatment patterns and medication adherence among newly diagnosed patients with migraine: a drug utilisation study. BMJ Open 2020;10:e038972.

  4. Hepp Z, Bloudek LM, Varon SF. Systematic review of migraine prophylaxis adherence and persistence. J Manag Care Pharm 2014;20:22–33.

  5. Hepp Z, Dodick DW, Varon SF, Gillard P, Hansen RN, Devine EB. Adherence to oral migraine-preventive medications among patients with chronic migraine. Cephalalgia 2015;35:470–88.

  6. Hepp Z, Dodick DW, Varon SF, et al. Persistence and switching patterns of oral migraine prophylactic medications among patients with chronic migraine: a retrospective claims analysis. Cephalalgia 2017;37:470–85.

  7. Cowan R, Cohen JM, Rosenman E, Iyer R. Physician and patient preferences for dosing options in migraine prevention. J Headache Pain 2019;20:50.

  8. Martelletti P, Schwedt TJ, Lanteri-Minet M, et al. My Migraine Voice survey: a global study of disease burden among individuals with migraine for whom preventive treatments have failed. J Headache Pain 2018;19:115.

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