Results of the gErman migraine PatIent Survey on medical Care and prOPhylactic treatment Experience (EPISCOPE)

Abstract

Migraine affects about 12% of the worldwide population causing substantial personal and societal burden. Yet, migraine remains underdiagnosed and untreated. EPISCOPE was a web-based survey among a German migraine patient cohort to characterize the medical care and prophylactic treatment status aiming to identify unmet needs. Potential migraine patients were identified via an ID Migraine screener. Their socioeconomic background, medical care experience, acute medication use, as well as use and experience of migraine prophylaxis was assessed by a questionnaire. Data of 29,011 participants was collected. 21,504 participants were identified as migraine patients. Patients with a higher number of monthly migraine days experienced better medical care. However, even among chronic migraine patients, 54% were not consulting a physician, 30% did not feel well-informed about medication overuse and 48% had never tried prophylactic migraine treatment. Among patients receiving prophylactic migraine treatment, up to 33% were not satisfied with their prophylaxis due to insufficient efficacy. Taken together, EPISCOPE describes the largest German migraine patient cohort so far. The survey provides detailed and valuable insight into the current medical care and prophylactic treatment situation in a highly developed European country and identifies reasons why the medical care of migraine patients is still insufficient.