Abstract
BackgroundWhether the patients with migraine have an elevated mortality risk in Taiwan is unclear.MethodsWe analyzed a subset of the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan and enrolled patients (≥20 years old) who received a diagnosis of migraine between 2000 and 2012. The migraine cohort was further divided into the ones ever with status migrainosus (SM) and non-status migraine (NM) subcohort and compared with a 1:4 age-, sex-, comorbidity-, and index date-matched comparison cohort. We calculated the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for subsequent mortality risk after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities.ResultsCompared with the comparison cohort, the corresponding aHRs for mortality were 0.81 (95% CI = 0.76–0.87), 0.89 (95% CI = 0.80–0.98), and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.72–0.84) in the total migraine, SM, and NM cohorts, respectively. SM, male sex, comorbid alcohol-related illness, depression, and mental disorders were identified as risk factors for subsequent mortality. Comorbid alcohol-related illness significantly increased the mortality risk in patients with migraine.ConclusionTaiwanese patients with migraine require comprehensive and universal medical care. These patients would benefit from controlling their migraines and reducing the subsequent mortality.
Highlights
Whether the patients with migraine have an elevated mortality risk in Taiwan is unclear
Patients aged 50–64 years and ≥ 65 years had a higher risk of mortality when compared with those aged 20–49 years
The mortality risk was higher in men and in patients with comorbid depression, mental disorders, and alcohol-related illness
Summary
Whether the patients with migraine have an elevated mortality risk in Taiwan is unclear. Numerous epidemiological studies conducted in developed Western countries have found that migraines affect approximately 20% of the general population [1, 2]. Migraine affects the central nervous system and disrupts daily life and increases life-threatening comorbid psychological and cardiovascular diseases in Treatment-resistant migraine or status migrainosus (SM) poses a unique and difficult challenge to headache specialists. Patients with such a condition may experience considerably more disability than patients with a classic, non-status migraine (NM) and may require specific pharmacological treatment or adopt psychological strategies to reduce the burden of the disease [10].
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