Menopause linked to headaches

Perimenopausal migraineurs are particularly likely to experience frequent headaches, especially if they are depressed or overuse headache medications, according to an American analysis that included 3664 women with migraines.

Among premenopausal migraineurs, 8% experienced headaches on at least 10 days each month, which the authors described as ‘high-frequency’. This compared to 12.2% of perimenopausal and 12.0% of postmenopausal women. After adjusting for potential confounders, perimenopausal and postmenopausal migraineurs were 42% and 27% more likely than premenopausal women to experience high-frequency headaches, although the latter difference did not reach statistical significance.

Perimenopausal women with depression were 76% more likely to experience ‘high-frequency’ headaches than premenopausal migraineurs. Overuse of medications for headaches – such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, simple analgesics, triptans, ergots, or narcotics - increased the risk of ‘high-frequency’ headaches almost six-fold (odds ratio 5.74) in perimenopausal women.