Migraine Frequency Increases Among Menopausal Women

Women with migraine going through menopause experience more frequent headaches than premenopausal and postmenopausal women do, according to new research.

Since headaches worsen due to changes in hormones, women going through menopause report frequent headaches to their doctor, but few studies have examined the relationship.
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To examine headache patterns at various stages of menopause, researchers collected data from 3664 women aged 35 to 65 years diagnosed with migraines and participating in the 2006 American Migraine, Prevalence, and Prevention Study survey.

The survey included detailed questions about the menstrual cycle, sociodemographic information, and headache type and frequency. Women in the high frequency group experienced more than 10 headaches per month, whereas the low frequency group experienced less than 10 per month.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that 8% of premenopausal women, 12% of perimenopausal women, and 12% of postmenopausal women experienced a high frequency of headaches.

In addition, perimenopausal women were 62% more likely and postmenopausal women were 76% more likely to experience high frequency headaches compared to premenopausal women.

“Recognition of the increased risk of high frequency headache during the menopausal transition suggests a need for optimized preventive treatment of migraine during this time of women's life,” researchers concluded.

--Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Martin VT, Pavlovic J, Fanning KM, et al. Perimenopause and menopause are associated with high frequency headache in women with migraine: results of the american migraine prevalence and prevention study. Headache. January 21, 2016. doi:10.1111/head.12763.