migraine epidemiology forecast
Migraine Insights and Trends
- According to DelveInsight’s analysis, the total prevalent cases of migraine were ~ 92 million in the 7MM (the United States, the EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), the United Kingdom, and Japan) in 2025.
- Migraine is a highly prevalent, disabling neurological disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of moderate-to-severe headache, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia, and other neurological symptoms.
- Migraine diagnosis is standardized through ICHD-3 clinical criteria, but remains largely dependent on symptom history rather than an objective biomarker. This creates challenges in atypical or first-time presentations and in distinguishing migraine, particularly aura, from neurological mimics such as transient ischemic attack, creating a need for more objective diagnostic tools.
- The migraine population is divided into acute/episodic and chronic migraine based on the number of headache days experienced per month. Acute or episodic migraine constitutes the vast majority of cases, accounting for approximately 95% of the migraine population, whereas chronic migraine affects only a small proportion of patients but is associated with a more severe and disabling disease burden. Within the acute/episodic migraine population, migraine without aura is the predominant subtype, representing approximately 85% of cases, while migraine with aura accounts for the remaining 15%.
- Analysis suggests that low/mild-disability (Grades I–II) remain largely untreated, while treatment innovation is increasingly focused on the moderate-to-severe migraine population. Acute migraine patients are mostly concentrated in MIDAS little-to-mild disability, a segment largely ineligible for preventive treatment, while chronic migraine skews toward Grade IV.
- Despite the high prevalence and substantial burden of migraine, treatment and prevention uptake remains relatively low across the 7MM. This is mainly due to underdiagnosis, limited healthcare-seeking behavior, delayed treatment initiation, inadequate access to specialists and appropriate therapies, affordability or reimbursement barriers, and poor treatment continuation or adherence.
Migraine Epidemiology Forecast in 7MM
- 2025 Prevalent Cases of Migraine: ~ 92 million
- 2036 Projected Prevalent Cases of Migraine: ~ 109 million
- Migraine Growth Rate (2026–2036): 1.6% CAGR
DelveInsight's ‘Migraine– Epidemiology Forecast – 2036’ report delivers an in-depth understanding of the migraine, historical and forecasted epidemiology in the United States, EU4 (Germany, Spain, Italy, and France) and the United Kingdom, and Japan.
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Study Period |
2022–2036 |
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Historical Year |
2022–2025 |
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Forecast Period |
2026–2036 |
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Base Year |
2026 |
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Geographies Covered |
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Migraine Epidemiology CAGR (Study period/Forecast period) |
3.59% (2026-2036) |
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Migraine Epidemiology Segmentation Analysis |
Patient Burden Assessment
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Migraine Understanding and Diagnosis Algorithm
Migraine is a common, disabling neurological disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of moderate-to-severe headache, often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine can occur with or without aura, with migraine without aura being the more common presentation. Attacks typically last several hours to a few days and can substantially affect daily activities, work productivity, and quality of life. Diagnosis is primarily clinical and is based on the patient’s medical history, symptom pattern, headache characteristics, and neurological examination. There is no single laboratory test or imaging procedure that confirms migraine. Clinicians generally assess the frequency, duration, location, and intensity of headaches, associated symptoms, presence of aura, and potential triggers while ruling out other causes of headache. Neuroimaging or additional investigations may be considered when patients present with atypical symptoms, abnormal neurological findings, or warning signs suggestive of a secondary headache disorder.
Further details are provided in the report.
Migraine Epidemiology
Key Findings from Migraine Epidemiological Analysis and Forecast
The migraine epidemiology chapter in the report provides historical as well as forecasted epidemiology segmented by Migraine Prevalent Cases, Migraine Prevalent Cases by Gender, Acute and Chronic Migraine Prevalent Cases, Menstrual Migraine Prevalent Cases, Migraine Prevalent Cases by Severity (MIDAS Grading), Chronic/Episodic Migraine Receiving Treatments, Chronic/Episodic Migraine Receiving Preventive Treatments covering the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan from 2022 to 2036.
- Migraine represents a substantial epidemiological burden across the 7MM, with adults accounting for the majority of prevalent cases, with 85 million cases in 2025, compared with the pediatric population with 7 million cases.
- Migraine prevalence in Japan is relatively low compared with the overall 7MM burden. In 2025, Japan accounted for approximately 10.1% of the total migraine prevalent cases across the 7MM.
- Migraine prevalence is consistently higher among women than men. This female predominance is largely associated with hormonal and biological factors, particularly fluctuations in estrogen during the menstrual cycle, which can increase susceptibility to migraine attacks. Menstrual-related migraine consequently represents a substantial component of the migraine burden among women, with approximately 30–70% of female migraineurs reporting attacks during the perimenstrual period.
- In the United States, the acute migraine severity distribution in 2025 was estimated at 16 million, 7 million, 8 million, and 14 million for MIDAS Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, and Grade IV, respectively.
- Despite the high prevalence of migraine in the United States, treatment uptake remains relatively low, with only around half of patients seeking or receiving treatment. Among EU4 and the UK countries, Italy reported the highest acute treatment pool, whereas France had the lowest; among EU4 and the UK countries, Germany reported the highest chronic treatment pool, whereas Spain had the lowest.
Scope of the Report
- The report covers a segment of an executive summary, a descriptive overview of migraine, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, and pathogenesis.
- Comprehensive insight has been provided into the epidemiology segments and forecasts, the future growth potential of the diagnosis rate, and disease progression.
Report Insights
- Migraine patient population forecast
Report Key Strengths
- Epidemiology-based (epi-based) bottom-up forecasting
- 11-year forecast
- Patient burden trends (by geography)
FAQs
- What are the disease risks, burdens, and unmet needs of migraine? What will be the growth opportunities across the 7MM concerning the patient population with migraine?
- What is the historical and forecasted migraine patient pool in the US, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), the UK, and Japan?
Reasons to Buy
- Insights on patient burden/disease prevalence, evolution in diagnosis, and factors contributing to the change in the epidemiology of the disease during the forecast years.
- To understand key opinion leaders’ perspectives on the diagnostic challenges to overcome barriers in the future.
- Detailed insights on various factors hampering disease diagnosis and other existing diagnostic challenges.
