Study, 1942
Do premenstrual headaches follow a regular pattern tied to the menstrual cycle?
Yes. Six women had severe throbbing headaches that regularly started six days before menstruation and lasted until the 2nd or 3rd day of their period, often with feelings of fear during the headaches.
What they did
Case series of six women referred for menstrual-related problems who all had a similar pattern of premenstrual headaches.
What they found
Patients experienced severe throbbing headaches that reliably began six days before menstruation and continued until the 2nd or 3rd day of menstrual flow. During these headaches, women also reported fears of impending catastrophe affecting themselves or their family.
What it means for you
The study documented a consistent pattern linking premenstrual headaches to the menstrual cycle. The main limitation is that the abstract describes the headache pattern but does not explain whether the proposed estrogen therapy actually worked.
6
women studied
6 days
before menstruation when headache began
2-3 days
into menstrual flow when headache ended
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Headache Relieved by Estrogen Therapy1
- Authors
- Boris B. Rubenstein
- Journal
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Year
- 1942
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 6
- What was tested
- Estrogen therapy (mentioned in the title but not detailed in the abstract).
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1210/jcem-2-12-700
Topics
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