The World Health Organization regards migraine, TTH and MOH as public health matters due to them causing such high population levels of disability and ill health. Although much less prevalent, the WHO highlights cluster headaches alongside these three, due to the intensity of symptoms.2

As at 2017, migraine was considered as the second highest cause of years lived with disability (YLDs) globally after low back pain, causing an estimated 45.1 million YLDs in 2016. It was the most common cause of YLDs among women aged 15-49. TTH caused an estimated 7.2 million YLDs.9,10

Potentially, the equivalent of 86 million workdays are lost to migraine each year in the UK. Costs associated with the condition are approaching £1 billion annually, with prescription cost analysis data for England in 2018 indicating migraine drugs had a net ingredient cost of £65.48 million.9,

A European study has suggested that the cumulative burden of MOH is greater than migraine which is greater than TTH: 18 per cent of males and 28 per cent of females with migraine lost more than 10 per cent of days, whereas 45 per cent of males and 54 per cent of females with MOH lost more than 20 per cent.12