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Help For Headaches is a non-profit
group and a charitable organization that offers educational programs,
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www.w-h-a.org www.headache-help.org Migraine Costs Canadians Millions of Dollars/Year Due to Work Absence London, ON June 12, 2004 – In Canada, absence from work due to migraine costs businesses on the order or $500 million per year. In Ontario, the average overall annual cost due to migraine is estimated to be $3,025 per patient, mostly due to loss of workdays or reduced productivity during a workday due to migraine. Approximately 2.6 million adult Canadian women and just fewer than one million adult men suffer from migraine, but only half are likely to have been adequately diagnosed by a doctor despite excellent access to healthcare and prescription medications. As well, approximately 10% of children and 28% of adolescents have migraine headaches. It has been shown that children with migraine experience a similar quality of life as children with arthritis or cancer. The World Health Organization now lists migraine among the top 20 causes of years lived with disability, with an impact that extends far past the suffering individual, to the family and community. And yet, headache disorders continue to be under diagnosed, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. These were some of the messages delivered by neurologist Dr. William Pryse-Phillips (Memorial University, Newfoundland) and neuropsychologist Dr. Barbaranne Branca (Michigan Head-Pain & Neurological Institute) at this year’s Help for Headaches seminar, held in London, Ontario. Help for Headaches is a Canadian charity, founded in 1995. Its director, Brent Lucas, and long-time volunteer Carol Stroud, work tirelessly to provide free of charge educational services to those suffering from, and those treating headache disorders. While there is still no cure for migraine, there are treatment strategies, including drug and behavioural therapies, and basic lifestyle changes. Sadly, though, due to lack of awareness, millions of sufferers continue to be misdiagnosed, give up on treatment, or suffer in silence. In addition to the enormous economic costs, the personal impact of migraine can be staggering; depression, low self-esteem, unemployment, family conflict, isolation, guilt, and child neglect due to illness are outcomes experienced by millions of sufferers. While migraine has historically been misunderstood, today most professionals now know that it is a serious biological disorder, and not a psychological affliction or a sign of neurosis. Most experts believe that migraine is caused by a chemical signal, which activates sensors in the brain, setting off a chain of events that cause blood vessels to become inflamed and expand, resulting in pain. It is thought that migraine sufferers have an ultra-sensitive nervous system, making them particularly vulnerable to internal and external triggers, such as hormonal shifts, food sensitivities, odours and/or chemicals, and changes in the weather. A representative from the World Headache Alliance (WHA) also spoke at the meeting, about their organization’s work to raise the awareness of headache globally. WHA is a non-profit organization established in 1997, with 41 member organizations in 26 countries. Shelagh Ross told the audience that while migraine management can be a real challenge, there is help available, and education is the first step. Both the WHA and Help for Headaches have websites to help patients learn more about their disorder. The websites include hundreds of informative articles, detailed descriptions of headache disorders, and links to other websites and articles. The World Headache Alliance website can be found at www.w-h-a.org, and Help for Headaches at www.headache-help.org.
For more information on World Headache
Alliance, please contact:
For more information on headache in Canada and Help for Headaches, please contact:
Brent Lucas, Director |
