Migraines are very common in Australia. So why are they under-diagnosed and under-treated?
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Loading... - Annika Fuchs
- 25 Jan 2023
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Carl Cincinnato describes migraines as a "perfectly evil disease".
"Whilst migraine itself may not be known for taking life, it can take everything in life worth living for away from you," the director of operations at Migraine and Headache Australia and a migraine sufferer, tells ABC RN's Life Matters.
Migraines are considered to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide. They are very common in Australia and almost 5 million people are estimated to have the neurological condition, of which 400,000 are found to have chronic migraines. More than 70 per cent are women and most of those who have the condition are of working age.
Many often talk about how isolating the experience can be.
"It really can create a wedge between you and the outside world because you've got … this debilitating, uncontrollable pain, that no one else can see," Cincinnato says.
Migraines also have a devastating financial impact on the sufferer and the wider community. In 2018, a report found that the condition cost the Australian economy about $35.7 billion, with over $16 billion in productivity costs.
But, despite how common and devastating the neurological disorder can be, and the option of some relatively accessible treatments, the condition remains both under-diagnosed and under-treated in Australia.
In 2007, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) found that, across 36 Australian hospitals, only about a third provided recommended migraine treatments. Read More…
