title: Integrated care for chronic migraine patients: epidemiology, burden, diagnosis and treatment options.
abstract: Migraine is a common neurological disorder, characterised by severe headaches. Epidemiological studies in the USA and Europe have identified a subgroup of migraine patients with chronic migraine. Chronic migraine is defined as ≥15 headache days per month for ≥3 months, in which ≥8 days of the month meet criteria for migraine with or without aura, or respond to treatment specifically for migraine. Chronic migraine is associated with a higher burden of disease, more severe psychiatric comorbidity, greater use of healthcare resources, and higher overall costs than episodic migraine (<15 headache days per month). There is a strong need to improve diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of chronic migraine. Primary care physicians, as well as hospital-based physicians, are integral to the identification and treatment of these patients. The latest epidemiological data, as well as treatment options for chronic migraine patients, are reviewed here.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; h.diener@uni-essen.de.
authors.forename: Hans-Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Diener
authors.affiliation: Headache Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany;
authors.forename: Kasja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Solbach
authors.affiliation: Headache Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany;
authors.forename: Dagny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holle
authors.affiliation: Migraine and Headache Clinic, Königstein, Germany, and consulting physician, Department of Neurology and Headache Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Charly
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaul
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends
keywords: Chronic migraine; chronic daily headache; onabotulinumtoxinA; preventive treatment; primary care