Officer migraine sick days double in five years
Police officers and staff are more than twice as likely to be off work as a result of a headache or migraine compared with five years ago, new figures have revealed.
The condition accounted for 4,858 sick days among the rank-and-file at Police Scotland last year, and 2,114 among police staff.
The total of 6,972 days is more than double the number of 2018/19, when 3,202 absences were recorded.
Migraine experts said shift work, stress, the impact of Covid-19 and a lack of sleep could all trigger migraines, but added that increasing awareness of the condition across society more generally could be contributing to the rise.
The near 7,000 headache and migraine absences in 2022/23 were among 336,095 days off recorded due to ill health.
That is a reduction on the previous year, when 389,045 days were lost to health-related absence.
The most common reason for police officers to be off sick was respiratory issues, likely linked to Covid-19, followed by psychological disorders and musculoskeletal conditions.
Dr Katy Munro, author and headache specialist at the National Migraine Centre, told 1919 Magazine: “We have found that, since the Covid pandemic, people are experiencing migraines having never had them before, and those who did have them more often or worse.
“Disrupted sleep, missing meals and just the stress of life are all things that contribute.
“Stress is a factor, but it’s never just stress, it’s stress plus other things.”
She said some professions where people are inclined to “battle through” and put up with the symptoms may then find increased cases.
“There’s a myth that migraines are just headaches, and everyone gets headaches so those with migraines are just making a fuss,” she said.
“But actually the opposite is true – most people are quite determined and often turn up to work with a migraine when they shouldn’t.
“The consequences of that can be brain fog, bad decision-making, and it’s particularly noticeable in shift workers, especially those who do different shifts – sometimes days, sometimes nights – and don’t then have a stable routine.
“Not taking proper breaks or eating the right foods at the right times are also things that can make matters worse.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden, whose Freedom of Information request resulted in the statistics being published on Tuesday (July 4), urged the force to look into why the numbers are rising.
He told 1919 Magazine: “The issue of migraines is clearly an increasing problem among both police officers and staff.
“These hardworking and brave individuals deserve support and some investigation into why this rise is happening.
“The police have to deal with a number of things that most other sections of society never have to even think about.
“I hope we can soon see these figures reduce so that officers can get back to what they do best, keeping the public safe and supporting each other in the most challenging of circumstances.”