The impact of drug therapy on quality of life in headache and migraine

Although headache is among the most common and costly disorders in primary care, our understanding of its direct impact on the quality of life of affected individuals is incomplete. While studies evaluating the role of headache on health-related quality of life and healthcare economics are starting to appear in the medical literature, the effect of pharmacotherapy in improving quality of life is only beginning to be studied. At present, studies evaluating health-related quality of life in patients with migraine who are undergoing treatment are limited to 3 agents: sumatriptan, flurbiprofen and diclofenac. Several studies have consistently indicated that these drugs benefit patients by improving key dimensions of health-related quality of life or patients' sense of well-being to a significant extent. Given the magnitude of functional and emotional impairment associated with chronic headache disorders, assessing patients' perceptions of their quality of life makes a useful contribution to the evaluation of therapeutic interventions and should supplement traditional clinical endpoints in determining the effectiveness of new drugs.