Health
Women's migraines strongly associated with menstruation
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 9, 2004
Women are 1.7 times more likely to experience a migraine attack in the two days before menstruation and 2.5 times more likely to have one in the first three days of their period. These attacks are also more likely to be severe at this time of the month that any other, according to a study in the July 27 issue of Neurology.
Researchers at the City of London Migraine Clinic, England, analyzed diaries of 155 women with migraine in order to support the inclusion of menstrual migraine in the International Classification of Headache Disorders and the long-held belief of many women that their problems are related to hormonal fluctuations.
"For many women with migraine, the time of attacks is not random," wrote Elizabeth Loder, MD, director of the Headache Management Program at Spaulding Hospital in Boston, in an accompanying editorial.
Those on hormonal contraception were excluded from this study because this group is believed to have confounded previous studies that have failed to find an association.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/08/09/hlbf0809.htm.
