Income dissatisfaction and migraine headache. Evidence from a nationwide population-based survey

We investigate whether and to what extent income dissatisfaction (ID) is an important determinant of migraine. Indeed, ID may play a more relevant role in migraines than realized income, and it may affect both low and high-income people.

We exploit the Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT) survey covering about 80,000 individuals for this study. On the methodological ground, an instrumental variable probit model has been implemented.

To measure income dissatisfaction we exploit a self-reported status ranging from 1 to 4, while the migraine variable captures whether the individual suffers from migraine.

The results show that the higher the ID the greater the probability of having a migraine. This relationship is robust to the level of realized income, socioeconomic characteristics of the individual, and the existence of other illnesses.

The high relevance of ID among low-income as well as high-income people opens up a new perspective on the determinants of migraines and provides an explanation of the contrasting evidence in the literature about the income-migraine nexus.