Treatment patterns and predictors of costs among patients with migraine: evidence from the United States Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

AbstractAim: Within a treated migraine population, to evaluate if the sub-group meeting criteria for high disease-specific total costs is significantly different to the sub-group with medium and/or low-costs, and to identify the associated risk factors.Methods: Data from the Household Component of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC, 2008–2012), a nationally representative survey of non-institutionalized civilians in the US, were analyzed. Key inclusion criteria were migraine diagnosis (ICD-9 code: 346.XX) and prescribed treatment for migraine. Patients were categorized into high (>top 10th percentile), low (percentile), and medium (between high and low) cost sub-groups per migraine-specific total costs. Logistic regression models were applied to identify predictors of high vs medium and medium vs low-costs. Preventive eligibility, defined as (i) past/current use of migraine preventives or (ii) overuse of acute medications, was compared to non-preventive eligibility.Results: Within the ...