OBJECTIVES: Migraine is a serious neurological condition manifesting from early adulthood and predominantly affecting females. Migraine was reported to affect 13.2% of the Swedish population, approximately 1.1 million individuals. This analysis aims to estimate migraine economic burden to the Swedish government using a fiscal modelling framework.

METHODS: Migraine-related changes to productivity were estimated for a cohort affected by migraine and compared with a demographically identical cohort from the Swedish general population (GP). Relative measures of migraine’s impact on productivity were sourced from peer-reviewed publications and applied to the GP rates of unemployment, absenteeism, disability, and early retirement sourced from national statistics. Foregone labor, direct and indirect taxes, increased social benefit transfers, and healthcare costs were accrued from age 44 over a 20-year time horizon (longitudinal engine), or for the adult population affected by migraine in 2022 (cross-sectional engine), and reported as net monetary consequences. Longitudinal results were discounted at 3%.

RESULTS: The migraine cohort was affected by higher rates of absenteeism, unemployment, disability, and early retirement. Over 20-years, an average individual affected by migraine generated SEK464,867 in additional costs to the Swedish government, compared to a person in the GP. This was equivalent to SEK30,669 per year lived with migraine. The entire population affected by migraine was estimated to cost SEK33.9 billion in 2022 alone (0.4% of Swedish gross domestic product), an average of SEK25,153 per person with migraine. Healthcare costs connected to migraine represented 40-50% of the total economic burden from the longitudinal and cross-sectional results, respectively. Public sector migraine-related absence represented 26% of the economic burden, half of which was due to absenteeism among healthcare and social care workers.

CONCLUSIONS: Migraine was associated with important economic losses to the Swedish government. Decreased productivity and foregone tax revenue represented a minimum of 50% of the economic disease burden.