Sait Ashina, Elizabeth Johnston, E Jolanda Muenzel, Gilwan Kim, Dawn C Buse, Michael L Reed, Robert E Shapiro, Susan Hutchinson, Anthony J Zagar, Robert A Nicholson, Richard B Lipton
{"title":"Opioid Use among People with Migraine: Results of the OVERCOME (US) Study.","authors":"Sait Ashina, Elizabeth Johnston, E Jolanda Muenzel, Gilwan Kim, Dawn C Buse, Michael L Reed, Robert E Shapiro, Susan Hutchinson, Anthony J Zagar, Robert A Nicholson, Richard B Lipton","doi":"10.1007/s40122-025-00774-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Despite expert recommendations against using opioids for migraine treatment, their use remains common in the USA. We aimed to evaluate the use of opioids among people with active migraine using data from the Observational Survey of the Epidemiology, Treatment, and Care of Migraine (OVERCOME) (US) study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This observational, longitudinal, web-based survey study included a demographically representative sample of adults with migraine in the USA (2018-2020). Participants with migraine (International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition [ICHD-3]) and ≥ 1 headache in the previous 12 months were identified via a questionnaire and/or self-reported diagnosis. Information on opioid use for acute migraine treatment was collected. Demographics, clinical, and migraine-related characteristics among those with current opioid use and those with non-use were evaluated in the cross-sectional analysis using standardized mean difference (SMD). Multivariable analysis was conducted using machine learning (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, random forest) and logistic regression models to assess factors associated with current opioid use.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 61,932 respondents with active migraine, 13,331 (21.5%) reported currently using opioids to treat migraine. Among those using opioids, 68.0% were female, 64.3% identified as White, and 13.7% identified as Hispanic. Those currently using opioids differed from those not using opioids in various characteristics, including higher tobacco/marijuana use, more comorbidities, higher migraine-related disability, and higher interictal burden (all SMD > 0.2). The factors most associated with current opioid use were \"currently taking recommended acute medications for migraine\" (odds ratio [OR], 10.1; confidence interval [CI], 9.47, 10.78), \"currently taking barbiturates for migraine\" (OR, 2.2; CI, 2.03, 2.34), and \"sought care at an Emergency Department/Urgent Care for migraine in the previous 12 months\" (OR, 1.7; CI, 1.67, 1.85).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study shows that opioid use for migraine is associated with using recommended acute medications, barbiturates, and emergency department care for migraine. Understanding how to limit these factors is key to developing interventions to reduce opioid use in migraine.</p>","PeriodicalId":19908,"journal":{"name":"Pain and Therapy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Pain and Therapy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40122-025-00774-y","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Despite expert recommendations against using opioids for migraine treatment, their use remains common in the USA. We aimed to evaluate the use of opioids among people with active migraine using data from the Observational Survey of the Epidemiology, Treatment, and Care of Migraine (OVERCOME) (US) study.
Methods: This observational, longitudinal, web-based survey study included a demographically representative sample of adults with migraine in the USA (2018-2020). Participants with migraine (International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition [ICHD-3]) and ≥ 1 headache in the previous 12 months were identified via a questionnaire and/or self-reported diagnosis. Information on opioid use for acute migraine treatment was collected. Demographics, clinical, and migraine-related characteristics among those with current opioid use and those with non-use were evaluated in the cross-sectional analysis using standardized mean difference (SMD). Multivariable analysis was conducted using machine learning (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, random forest) and logistic regression models to assess factors associated with current opioid use.
Results: Of 61,932 respondents with active migraine, 13,331 (21.5%) reported currently using opioids to treat migraine. Among those using opioids, 68.0% were female, 64.3% identified as White, and 13.7% identified as Hispanic. Those currently using opioids differed from those not using opioids in various characteristics, including higher tobacco/marijuana use, more comorbidities, higher migraine-related disability, and higher interictal burden (all SMD > 0.2). The factors most associated with current opioid use were "currently taking recommended acute medications for migraine" (odds ratio [OR], 10.1; confidence interval [CI], 9.47, 10.78), "currently taking barbiturates for migraine" (OR, 2.2; CI, 2.03, 2.34), and "sought care at an Emergency Department/Urgent Care for migraine in the previous 12 months" (OR, 1.7; CI, 1.67, 1.85).
Conclusions: This study shows that opioid use for migraine is associated with using recommended acute medications, barbiturates, and emergency department care for migraine. Understanding how to limit these factors is key to developing interventions to reduce opioid use in migraine.
期刊介绍:
Pain and Therapy is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, rapid publication journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality clinical (all phases), observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of pain therapies and pain-related devices. Studies relating to diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged.
Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, acute pain, cancer pain, chronic pain, headache and migraine, neuropathic pain, opioids, palliative care and pain ethics, peri- and post-operative pain as well as rheumatic pain and fibromyalgia.
The journal is of interest to a broad audience of pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals and publishes original research, reviews, case reports, trial protocols, short communications such as commentaries and editorials, and letters. The journal is read by a global audience and receives submissions from around the world. Pain and Therapy will consider all scientifically sound research be it positive, confirmatory or negative data. Submissions are welcomed whether they relate to an international and/or a country-specific audience, something that is crucially important when researchers are trying to target more specific patient populations. This inclusive approach allows the journal to assist in the dissemination of all scientifically and ethically sound research.