Estimates for
lost workday equivalents
per year come from the
Baltimore County Migraine study (Schwartz, 1997), a population-based telephone survey in a demographically diverse area thought to be representative of the US population.
Lost workday equivalents includes the number of days a person was absent from work and a calculation of the amount of work missed because of reduced effectiveness on the job known as
presenteeism.
This study was chosen because it was thought to be representative of the entire migraine population and included individuals with varying levels of severity.
Estimates from other national studies (i.e. the American Migraine study) were similar, but included estimates for paid and unpaid time off (Stewart 1996).
Other studies reviewed either underestimated migraine prevalence (Stang, 1993), used self-report to classify migraineurs
(Stang, 1993;Edmeads, 2002)
or were not representative of all migraineurs (Edmeads, 2002).
The figure selected is likely to underestimate number of days off for more severely affected migraineurs and will result in conservative model calculations.
These studies are listed below.
If you would like to see a formal abstract of the article, please click on the name of the author.
Other studies have estimated the number of days off per year for migraineurs (due to both absenteeism and presenteeism) ranging from 10 to 39.
These estimates are generally from studies conducted among health plan participants who received a physician diagnosis
or from more severely affected patients attending a specialized headache clinic (Gerth, 2001).
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