TEVA SURVEY DRIVES CALL-TO-ACTION AND COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ‘FORGOTTEN’ MIGRAINE POPULATION1,2

15 September 2020 – Teva today announced results of its ‘Beyond Migraine: The Real You’ survey of more than 7,500 people with migraine. It revealed 9 in 10 respondents feel that migraine has a negative impact on their quality of life, with almost 42% also saying that they are not satisfied with their prescribed migraine treatment.² Teva, along with the European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA), is calling on healthcare professionals (HCPs) to proactively support timely diagnosis and treatment.

 Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease that causes recurrent episodes of pain lasting 4–72 hours, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia and changes in vision (aura).³ There are different categorisations of migraine – in this survey 84% of respondents has ‘episodic’ migraine 

(4–14 days / month), and 16% had ‘chronic’ migraine (15+ days / month). Migraine impacts all areas of a person’s life, including the ability to fully participate in family, social and work activities.

 The survey, conducted across 10 European countries, found that people living with migraine were at a loss on how to better support themselves or advocate for improved disease management. The broader survey results went on to explore the often-devastating impact of migraine on all aspects of a patient’s life, ranging from their relationships, work life, social life and education.

 ^·          60% of people living with migraine indicated that migraine has negatively impacted their social life, their studies, work and career.²

^·          40% of young people living with migraine indicate an impact on their education.²

^·          Only 1 out of 8 were member of a patient support group.²  

 Of those patients who were receiving treatment from their HCP, almost 8 in 10 (77%) said that their treating doctor took their condition very seriously, but 30% felt their doctor was not sufficiently informed on the latest migraine treatments.² One in 4 people said they would like to be more involved in decisions about their treatment.²

 Patients want more from HCPs

 “The perception from patients is that there is room for improvement in healthcare professional knowledge around migraine, with almost a quarter of patients feeling their doctor didn’t sufficiently understand their condition,” said Elena Ruiz de la Torre, Executive Director, European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA). “While I have seen significant improvements in migraine management over recent decades, the survey data highlights the need for more work to be done to raise awareness, increase knowledge and continue to integrate a faster migraine diagnosis process.”

 She continued, “The healthcare community is at the forefront of treating and responding to migraine patients’ needs, and we hope that the insights uncovered by this survey will motivate healthcare professionals to respond to the call-to-action and be proactive in finding effective solutions for their migraine patients.”

 Effective migraine prevention and management requires continuous patient assessment and treatment evaluation by a healthcare professional.⁴ In many cases, preventive treatment can not only reduce migraine frequency, but also the risk of progression to more severe disease.⁴

 “Teva is deeply committed to supporting the migraine community and has developed many practical tools to help empower migraine patients around the world. We also work in close partnership with healthcare professionals and patient organisations, such as European Migraine and Headache Alliance.” said Joshua M. Cohen, MD, MPH, FAHS, Sr Director, Global TA Lead Migraine & Headache at Teva Pharmaceuticals. “The results of the survey demonstrate that even though migraine management is improving, there is still a long way to go in securing optimal care for people living with the disease. Teva wants to help patients, and as such has developed a Disease Awareness Campaign called ‘Beyond Migraine: The Real You’, and hopes this, along with the results of this survey, will inspire action to ultimately improve patient quality of life.”

References

¹ Steiner T, et al. Migraine is first cause of disability under 50s: will health politicians now take notice?
J Headache Pain. 2018;19(17):1–4.

² InSite Consulting, 2019. Teva Embrace Our Potential Migraine Research. Data collection Nov-Dec 2019.*

³ Migraine Research Foundation. Migraine Facts. https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/. Accessed 31 March 2020.

⁴ Buse DC, Rupnow MFT, Lipton RB. Assessing Physician-Patient Dialogues About Chronic Migraine During Routine Office Visits. Headache. 2018;1–14.

*Independent data collection was conducted at the request of and with financial support of Teva.