Migraines costing Australian economy $35 billion a year

MIGRAINES are a major headache for the Australian economy costing tens of billions of dollars a year, a landmark report has found.

MIGRAINES are becoming a headache for the economy, with a new report putting their cost at $35 billion per year.

The debilitating condition was adding $14.3 billion in costs to the health system, $16.3 billion in sick days for workers and $5 billion in other costs, the Deloitte Access Economic report said.

Almost five million Australians have now reported suffering from migraines.

NEW DRUG ABLE TO OVERCOME MIGRAINES AVAILABLE IN AUS

MIGRAINES DESTROY AUSTRALIAN’S’ LIVES

MELBOURNE MIGRAINE THERAPY TRIAL A WORLD-FIRST

“The annual economic cost for each individual person with migraine can reach up to $27,803,” Lynne Pezzullo, managing partner at Deloitte Access Economics, said.

Women were worst hit with migraines, making up 71 per cent of those who reported the illness.

And women in their 20s and 30s were most likely to be affected, the report said.

Some chronic sufferers were taking up to 15 sick days per month to deal with the side effects of the illness.

Emily Reed is a headache sufferer who has been treated by the Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic. Picture: Renae Droop

The cost to carers and the welfare system was also at least $225 million per year, the report said.

Associate Professor Julian Rait, the president of the Australian Medical Association of Victoria, said more research needed.

“We can underestimate the suffering of people with migraines, we don’t appreciate how debilitating it can be for some people,” he said.

“It’s not just the headaches, it’s the other symptoms. People can have visual disturbance and be sensitive to light and sound, weakness of muscle.”

Associate Professor Julian Rait is President of AMA Victoria

Recovery from an episode could take days and some sufferers had at least one migraine a week, he added.

New therapies that blocked proteins were offering hope for some patients, Mr Rait said.

Carol Bennett, chief executive of Painaustralia, said migraines were a pressing public health issue.

“For a condition that is not considered a direct cause of mortality, and which in many cases has no cause or cure, these costs seem disproportionately high, while funding for migraine research is clearly inadequate,” she wrote in the report.

[e-mail]