Background:

Migraine is a chronic debilitating and costly illness, the etiology of which is not yet fully known. Treatment is based on the control of acute attacks and the prophylactic management of chronic forms.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to find out the migraine preventive treatments which are used by patients in different countries in Europe, as well as observing the differences according to their social and demographic conditions.

Methods:

A cross-sectional observational study performed by means of an anonymous web-based survey of 3342 patients from Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany, and other European Union (EU) countries.

Study variables:

Age, gender, country, type of town/city, level of studies completed, and rural or urban area have been dismissed. The different uses of preventive treatments are defined as: i always take preventive treatments, I take seasonal preventive treatments, I do not take preventive treatments, I do not know what a preventive treatment is.

Results:

The regular use of preventive treatments increases with age, their use is greater in patients over the age of 40 years (p < 0.0001), and they are most commonly used in Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and in the rest of the countries in the EU (p < 0.0001). Out of all of the countries included in this survey, Spain has the highest use of seasonal preventive medication (p < 0.0001). The lowest use of preventive treatments is in patients under the age of 40 years (p = 0.002) and in female patients (p = 0.028). The highest percentages of patients who do not use preventive treatments (p < 0.0001) are from Spain, Germany, and the rest of the countries in the EU. Young patients under the age of 40 years (p < 0.0001), patients in Spain, Germany, and the rest of the countries in the EU that were not included in the initial design (p < 0.0001) have the greatest lack of knowledge with regard to preventive treatments.

Conclusions:

The use of preventive pharmacological therapies in migraine remains low despite the fact that these therapies are scientifically backed. It is important to further develop the training of physicians and reinforce patient information, assessing patient preferences to improve their adherence to treatment.

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