Survey study, 2021
Are migraines around the period worse than migraines at other times?
Yes. Migraines during the menstrual window last much longer, come back more often, and are more intense than migraines at other times of the cycle.
What they did
500 women with migraine kept an electronic diary of their headaches for at least 1 month. Researchers compared migraines that happened around the period (998 attacks) to migraines at other times (4,097 attacks).
What they found
Migraines around the period lasted 20 vs 16.1 hours. They had higher recurrence risk (odds ratio 2.4), more intense pain (odds ratio 1.4), required more triptan medication (odds ratio 1.2), and had more light sensitivity (odds ratio 1.3) and sound sensitivity (odds ratio 1.2). Of 396 women who completed the diary for 3 or more menstrual cycles, 56% (221 women) met criteria for menstrually related migraine.
What it means for you
Migraines during the period are significantly worse in multiple ways, which could increase the risk of medication overuse. This study focused on women with migraines, so the findings apply mainly to that population.
20 vs 16 hours
duration of period vs other migraines
2.4
odds ratio for recurrence in period migraine
56%
met criteria for menstrually related migraine
About the study
- Original title
- Comparing Perimenstrual and Nonperimenstrual Migraine Attacks Using an e-Diary
- Authors
- van Casteren DS, Verhagen IE, van der Arend BWH et al.
- Journal
- Neurology
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 4,097
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000012723
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