Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors can limit the ability and willingness of those suffering from migraine to access and receive care, according to OVERCOME (US) study results presented in a poster session at the American Headache Society 2021 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting.

Nearly half of respondents in the multi-cohort, cross-sectional and longitudinal, prospective web-based survey OVERCOME (US) reported hesitancy to consult for migraine care.

“Little is known about what differentiates those who do and do not hesitate to seek medical care for headaches and the relative importance of factors associated with hesitating to seek care,” wrote Michael L. Reed, PhD, Vedanta Research, Chapel Hill, NC, and coinvestigators.

Researchers aimed to study the impact of sociodemographic, lifestyle, migraine and non-migraine related clinical characteristics, and patient reported outcomes on migraine care.

Patient reported outcome instruments included MIDAS, ASC-12, mTOQ-4, and MSQ v2.1 RFR.

A total of 41,925 participants responded to the survey and reported ≥1 headache or migraine, validated by the American Migraine Study/American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study migraine diagnostic screener using ICHD-3 criteria and/or migraine diagnosis by a health care professional in the previous year.

The analysis population consisted of 39,494 respondents that indicated if they had or had not hesitated to seek care from a health care provider for migraine, the remaining participants citing that they could not remember. Data were collected in 2018 and 2019, and the datasets were combined.

Of the participants, 17,951 (45.5%) said they had hesitated to consult for migraine care while 21,543 (54.5%) said they had not.

Respondents who hesitated to receive care reported moderate disability and migraine limiting their daily activities. They also reported higher percentages of dizziness or vertigo, depression or anxiety, and nicotine use, as well as lower percentages of health insurance. Hesitation to receive care was also associated with poor acute treatment optimization.

These results highlight factors that impact ability to access care and underscore unmet treatment needs among patients with migraine.

“Future research and clinical practice should consider the consulting behavior and beliefs of persons with migraine with the goal of minimizing hesitancy to consult including the potential role of stigma and optimizing treatment,” Dr Reed et al concluded.

—Erin McGuinness

Reed, Michael L, Nicholson, Robert A, et al. Important factors associated with hesitating to consult for migraine care: results of the OVERCOME (US) study. Presented at: the American Headache Society 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting; June 3-6, 2021; Virtual. Presentation: P-12.