---
title: Can hormonal changes cause headaches? | Niyora
description: Yes. Hormonal changes from starting your period, pregnancy, birth control, menopause, and hormone therapy can cause or worsen headaches, especially migraines.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hormone-related-headache-2001/
---

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- Can hormonal changes cause headaches?

Survey study, 2001

# Can hormonal changes cause headaches?

Yes. Hormonal changes from starting your period, pregnancy, birth control, menopause, and hormone therapy can cause or worsen headaches, especially migraines. These headaches are difficult to treat.

 Early or limited evidence

Women at various life stages (menarche, pregnancy, reproductive years with oral contraceptives, menopause)

## What they did

This was a review examining how hormonal changes at different life stages affect headaches.

## What they found

Starting your period, pregnancy, birth control use, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy all can change how often or how bad headaches are. Stopping and starting birth control or hormone pills may trigger migraines. The problem may be related to stopping and starting hormone therapy.

## What it means for you

If your headaches get worse around your period or when you start birth control, hormones are likely the cause. Unfortunately, these hormone-related headaches are hard to treat with standard migraine medicines.

## About the study

Original title Hormone-related headache Authors Silberstein SD Journal The Medical clinics of North America Year 2001 Study design Survey study What was tested Oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0025-7125(05)70357-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0025-7125(05)70357-6)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Estradiol, progesterone and hormone therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormone-therapy/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)[Migraine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-migraine/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

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Systematic review, 2023

What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy?

Review, 2019

How does the menstrual cycle affect migraine in women?

Survey study, 2015

Does migraine increase during menopause, and can hormone therapy help?

Survey study, 2000

How do female hormones affect headaches and migraines?

Survey study, 1975

Is migraine linked to menstrual hormones?

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