Migraines cost Dutch businesses €1.7 billion annually

Migraines cost Dutch businesses 1.7 billion euros every year, according to calculations by the Dutch Central Bank. About 3 million Dutch people suffer from migraines, with more than 70 thousand people having an attack every day.

Rob van Doorn, director of the Netherlands Association of Headache Patients, believes that these costs can easily be reduced with simple measures.

"The economic costs are high because migraine patients find it impossible to continue working at the time of an attack. The pain is so intense and often sickening that people have little choice but to call in sick and go home" Van Doorn explained to the Telegraaf.

He believes that the economic loss can be reduced by measures as simple as workers and employers openly discussing the disease and finding solutions together. "For example, a room with a stretcher where migraine patients can quietly retire for an hour or two during an attack will already help. Then the employee does not have to go home and can resume work after a while."