Delays in migraine diagnosis and treatment: An Australian hospital headache clinic experience

Aim To quantify delays in migraine diagnosis and treatment in an Australian tertiary hospital headache clinic. Methods Data were collected from patients attending a tertiary headache clinic from February 2024 to November 2024 and entered into a secure REDCAP database. Patients fulfilling International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 (ICHD-3) diagnostic criteria for migraine were included in the study. Patients were asked the earliest age they could recall having migraine symptoms, when they first received a diagnosis of migraine from a clinician, and what preventive treatments they had tried for migraine. Statistical analysis with the Mann-Whitney U test for numerical data and Fisher's exact test for binomial data was then performed on SPSS. Results The median delay between migraine symptom onset and formal diagnosis of migraine was 6 years. 39% of patients (39/100) had not trialled a preventive prior to attendance at the clinic, including 27% (20/73) with 8 or more migraine days per month. There was a median delay of 11 years between reported symptom onset and commencement of prophylactic therapy. Conclusion There remain significant delays in migraine diagnosis and commencement of prophylactic therapy in Australian patients with migraine.