title: Treatment costs and indirect costs of cluster headache: A health economics analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cluster headache (CH) is the most frequent trigemino-autonomic cephalgia. CH can manifest as episodic (eCH) or chronic cluster headache (cCH) causing significant burden of disease and requiring attack therapy and prophylactic treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Treatment costs (direct costs) due to healthcare utilisation, as well as costs caused by disability and reduction in earning capacity (indirect costs), were obtained using a questionnaire in CH patients treated in a tertiary headache centre based at the University Duisburg-Essen over a 6-month period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total 179 patients (72 cCH, 107 eCH) were included. Mean attack frequency was 3.5 ± 2.5 per day. Mean direct and indirect costs for one person were €5963 in the 6-month period. Direct costs were positively correlated with attack frequency (r = 0.467, p < 0.001). Burden of disease measured with HIT-6 showed a significant correlation with attack frequency (r = 0.467, p < 0.001). Twenty-four (13.4%) of the participants were disabled and not able to work.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CH leads to major socioeconomic impact on patients as well as society due to direct healthcare costs and indirect costs caused by loss of working capacity.
authors: Department of Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. Charly.Gaul@gmx.de
authors: Charly
authors: C
authors: Gaul
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Finken
authors: Janine
authors: J
authors: Biermann
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Mostardt
authors: Hans-Christoph
authors: HC
authors: Diener
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Müller
authors: Jürgen
authors: J
authors: Wasem
authors: Anja
authors: A
authors: Neumann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003027:Cluster Headache / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires