Migraine in Women

Migraine in Women
The evidence is considerable linking female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, to migraine.  The female preponderance of migraine would appear largely related to hormonal milestones throughout a female migraineur’s life: menarche, oral contraceptive use, pregnancy, the post-partum state and breastfeeding, perimenopause, menopause and the use of hormone replacement therapy.  At any stage during the reproductive cycle of a woman these milestones or therapy related to a milestone may alter both prevalence and severity of headache.  Migraine is actually more common in boys than in girls with the gender difference in migraine only appearing as young women reach the age of menarche.  Migraine is more common in adult women (18%) than in men (6%) and migraine prevalence peaks for both genders in the 25-55 age range.  Women have opportunities for their migraine to be influenced during puberty as menstrual cycles begin, throughout their reproductive years, and again at perimenopause and post-menopause.  Estradiol levels peak in the late twenties and early thirties and decline thereafter.  At each hormonal milestone, opportunities for therapeutic management abound.
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