No major racial/ethnic differences in abortive or prophylactic treatment for migraine were identified in a recent study that sought to determine if racial differences in quality of migraine medical prescription care exist. Researchers used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to estimate differences in the use of migraine prophylactic and abortive medications by race. Patients were assigned to 1 of 4 categories representing the overall quality of evidence for their abortive and prophylactic medications. They found:
- 2860 visits were included in the study, representing approximately 50 million migraine visits in the US from 2006 to 2013.
- In all, 41.3% of African American (AA), 40.8% of non-Hispanic whites (NHW), and 41.2% of Hispanic (HI) patients received no prophylactic treatments.
- A total of 18.8% of AA patients, 11.9% of NHW patients, and 6.9% of HI patients received exclusively Level A prophylaxis.
- A total of 47.1% of AA patients, 38.2% of NHW patients, and 36.3% of HI patients received no abortive treatments.
- In total, 15.3% of AA patients, 19.4% of NHW patients, and 17.7% of HI patients received any Level A abortives.
Do racial/ethnic disparities exist in recommended migraine treatments in US ambulatory care? Cephalalgia. 2018;38(5):786-882. doi:10.1177/0333102417716933.