Migraines and Hormones

Dr. Richard Lipton conducted a fascinating study in 1991 that lead to the conclusion that women are three times more likely to experience migraines than men. Since then, various studies have been conducted by several researchers to determine the cause for this drastic difference. Women in the throes of a migraine or seeking headache pain relief may not be concerned about these statistics while they are suffering the migraine, but having some understanding of the reason for the large difference in the number of women verses men that suffer migraines can help a woman learn the best times to go into high gear practicing trigger avoidance in effort to ward off a migraine.

Studies show that a child’s sex does not affect the number of migraine headaches in children before they reach puberty. Once puberty is reached, however, the numbers change drastically with girls having three times more headaches and migraines than boys; which indicates that the changes in hormones are the reason for this. Women have fluctuating hormone levels as part of their menstrual cycle. Different levels of estrogen are believed to be correlated with the onset of migraines. In fact, one of the types of headaches is known as a menstrual migraine. Even during and after menopause, a woman’s hormones are thought to be the cause for the fact that there are three times more women who suffer migraine pain than men.

Understanding that hormonal changes are one of the causes of migraine, by monitoring her monthly cycle, keeping a migraine dairy and diligently practicing trigger avoidance, a woman can greatly lower her chances for the onset of a migraine. These preventative measures are much easier than migraine remedies and migraine cures.