Survival outcome and mortality rate in patients with migraine: a population-based cohort study

Whether the patients with migraine have an elevated mortality risk in Taiwan is unclear.

We analyzed a subset of the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan and enrolled patients (≥20 years old) who received a diagnosis of migraine between 2000 and 2012. The migraine cohort was further divided into the ones ever with status migrainosus (SM) and non-status migraine (NM) subcohort and compared with a 1:4 age-, sex-, comorbidity-, and index date-matched comparison cohort. We calculated the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for subsequent mortality risk after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities.

Compared with the comparison cohort, the corresponding aHRs for mortality were 0.81 (95% CI = 0.76-0.87), 0.89 (95% CI = 0.80-0.98), and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.72-0.84) in the total migraine, SM, and NM cohorts, respectively. SM, male sex, comorbid alcohol-related illness, depression, and mental disorders were identified as risk factors for subsequent mortality. Comorbid alcohol-related illness significantly increased the mortality risk in patients with migraine.

Taiwanese patients with migraine require comprehensive and universal medical care. These patients would benefit from controlling their migraines and reducing the subsequent mortality.