Migraine attacks are These aren’t ordinary headaches: They cause intense pain and nausea that can last for hours or even days, restricting you to rest in a dark, quiet room. And for millions of women, these debilitating attacks are not an occasional experience, but a recurring ordeal.
Woman suffers from migraines Three times more likely than men“It’s a lot more common than a lot of people think,” says Anne MacGregor, a headache and women’s health expert. Despite the wide range of treatments available, migraines remain a Main causes of disability-adjusted life years Loss of DALYs (healthy life years), an indicator of disease burden that takes into account time lost due to health problems, in women aged 15 to 49. The mechanism of migraine remains a mystery, but one of the reasons for this gender difference is hormones.
Boys in early childhood Slightly more prone to migraines Men suffer from migraines more than women, but this difference increases dramatically during puberty. During this time, sex hormones begin to fluctuate, triggering physical changes such as the onset of menstruation. This is when women are likely to experience their first migraine. After puberty, women suffer from migraines at a higher rate than men, and this difference becomes even more pronounced in their mid-30s and 40s. Continues into later years“The two ends of the reproductive age spectrum for women are kind of chaotic,” McGregor says.
In adulthood, many women who suffer from migraines report experiencing attacks related to their menstrual cycle. A sudden drop in estradiol, a potent form of estrogen, is thought to play a key role. A few days before menstruation, during a period known as the late luteal phase, estradiol levels drop sharply. Women who are prone to migraines: The rate at which estradiol decreases increases The number of women whose estrogen levels decrease before and after menstruation is greater than that of women who do not menstruate. Estrogen levels also decrease before and after ovulation, but the extent of the decrease is Not so fastThis may explain why migraines are less common during this time. The role of estrogen has also been observed in transgender women undergoing hormone therapy, Similar migraine frequency To cisgender women.
Estrogen fluctuations are also linked to migraines in women. As you enter perimenopause, the transitional period before menopause, your hormones become especially erratic. “Women who didn’t have significant menstrual migraines before are more likely to experience them during perimenopause,” says MacGregor. Some people’s symptoms ease after menopause. “But it’s important to say that patterns vary and not everyone gets better,” says Richard Lipton, a neurologist and epidemiologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
The link between estrogen and migraines is well documented, but researchers don’t yet fully understand how it affects the onset and progression of migraines. Lipton explains that migraines are a disorder characterized by brain sensitivity. “Sensitive means vulnerable to exogenous factors that make you more susceptible to migraines,” he says. The reaction could be triggered by things like hormonal changes.
But estrogen doesn’t act alone. Changes in estrogen levels also affect other hormones, such as serotonin, which prevents migraines by reducing pain sensitivity. When estrogen levels fall, Serotonin levels are alsoIf you have a high level of estrogen, your chances of having a migraine increase. Triggers also work in tandem: if enough factors come together, such as low estrogen, lack of sleep, poor diet, dehydration, and stress, an attack can occur.
