Are BIPOC migraine patients often misdiagnosed?

Hope O'Brien, MD, discusses the misdiagnosis, pain and frequency of Black, indigenous and people of color when it comes to migraines and treatment.

Transcript

00:00

Hey, Dr. O'Brien, when it comes to migraines, are people of color often misdiagnosed?

00:09

HOPE O'BRIEN: The short answer is yes. People of color are less likely to be accurately diagnosed with migraine than white patients.

00:17

Black and Hispanic patients are 25% and 50% less likely to be diagnosed with migraine respectively,

00:23

and they're also more likely to get diagnosed with non-specific headache disorder rather than a specific headache diagnosis.

00:30

It goes beyond diagnosing, too. Black patients tend to report a higher pain intensity and more

00:37

migraine days per month than white patients, yet they are still less likely to receive acute pain medication.

00:44

Wow. Do we know why that's happening? There are a few factors at play here, and unfortunately biased health care professionals

00:51

are still one of them. One 2016 study of medical residents and students found that 50% of participants still

00:58

believed in false biological differences between Black and white patients. We're talking about things like Black patients

01:05

having less sensitive nerve endings, thicker skin, and faster coagulating blood than white patients.

01:11

Now obviously these biological differences are absolutely absurd. Black patients aren't genetically better

01:18

at handling pain than other patients, and it's disturbing that those ideas can still be so widespread among medical professionals.

01:26

These incredibly flawed notions can lead to health care providers dismissing patients of color's pain and other symptoms,

01:34

but we're also seeing that Black migraine patients are less likely to see a medical profession in the first place.

01:41

One study found that 46% of Black migraine patients consulted a doctor for their migraines compared to 72% of white patients.

01:51

So how does this impact people of color getting proper treatment? Well, to get proper and effective treatment,

01:57

patients first need to get the correct diagnosis. Patients of color seek treatments less,

02:04

have their symptoms dismissed more, and are getting misdiagnosed. This matters especially with migraine

02:11

because different types of headaches are treated with different medications. We also know that migraines can become harder to treat

02:18

and more resistant to treatment if left unmanaged for too long. Knowing that these disparities exist in the first place

02:26

is the first step towards eradicating them. If we can make big strides towards correcting

02:32

these disparities during diagnosis, we have the potential to significantly improve how patients of color are being treated for their migraines.