Migraines are a leading cause of disability and presenteeism in workplaces worldwide, a fact that’s underrecognized. Symptoms of the disease can be hard to spot, claims data on migraine are elusive and stigma lingers. Moreover, patients often have limited access to care – in the U.S. there are 39 million migraine sufferers but only 560 headache specialists.

On this episode of the Business Group on Health podcast, we speak to one of those 560 headache specialists, Dr. Olivia Begasse De Dhaem. We discuss how migraines peak during the most productive years of life, and the impact migraines have on the workplace. She shares the results of a study she co-authored about a successful headache education program, which she helped implement at a large employer in Japan, and offers insights for other large employers for impact

Guest: Olivia Begasse De Dhaem, MD, neurologist and headache specialist, Hartford HealthCare Headache Center and author of Headache: What Do I Do Now?

Resources:

Fujitsu Study: Migraine in the workplace
Find a Migraine Specialist: American Migraine Foundation
The Atlantic: It’s the Best Time in History to Have a Migraine — So why doesn’t it feel that way?
Harvard Business Review: Migraines Are a Serious Problem. Employers Can Help.

Managing Migraines in the Workplace Shouldn’t be a Headache