Characterization of headaches in the premenstrual tension syndrome

Abstract

-Objective: Characterization of headaches in premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Although headache is one of the symptoms for PMS, no details on this headache are given by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) criteria. Method: A group of 45 fertile age women presenting PMS were invited to complete a registration diary for headache and PMS symptoms for three consecutive months. The diary included details of each headache attack, allowing for classification according to the International Headache Society criteria (IHS-2004). Results: Migraine without aura was the most common type of headache in PMS (n=27, 60%), followed by tension type headache (n=15, 30%). Only in two cases the type of headache varied among the observed months, and only in one case the diagnosis could not be concluded by the IHS-2004 criteria. Conclusion: Better clinical and therapeutic approach to headache in PMS can be achieved if the patient's type of headache could be properly characterized.Key wOrdS: headache, migraine, tension type headache, premenstrual tension syndrome. Caracterização das cefaléias na síndrome da tensão pré-menstrualResumo -Objetivo: Caracterização das cefaléias na síndrome da tensão pré-menstrual (TPM). embora cefaléia seja um dos sintomas associados à TPM, não são fornecidos detalhes sobre esta dor pelos critérios do American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). Método: Um grupo de 45 mulheres em idade fértil apresentando TPM foi convidado a preencher um diário de registro de cefaléia e dos sintomas de TPM por três meses consecutivos. O diário incluía detalhes de cada crise de cefaléia, permitindo classificação de acordo com os critérios da International Headache Society (IHS-2004). Resultados: enxaqueca sem aura foi a forma mais freqüente de cefaléia na TPM (n=27, 60%), seguida de cefaléia tipo tensional (n=15, 30%). em apenas dois casos a cefaléia variou entre os meses observados e em apenas um caso o diagnóstico não pôde ser conclusivo pelos critérios da IHS-2004. Conclusão: Melhor manejo clínico e terapêutico pode ser obtido na cefaléia da TPM se o tipo de cefaléia apresentado pela paciente puder ser adequadamente caracterizado.PAlAvrAS-CHAve: cefaléia, enxaqueca, cefaléia tipo tensional, síndrome da tensão pré-menstrual.

Migraine in Premenstrual Syndrome; Frequency and Associated Factor

“…PMS associated with menstrual migraine has been evaluated and increased symptoms of PMS associated with menstrual migraine were observed [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. It is therefore suggested that all women with PMS be examined for the presence of menstrual migraine using IHS criteria (International headache society) as medical and social consequences of menstrual headache affect not only the women but also their family [25].…”

“…In the study of Vetvik, from a total of 237 students with PMS, 7.6% had menstrual migraine [20]. In the study of Fragoso, the most common type of headache was migraine without aura with a prevalence of 60% among 45 women with PMS [22]. In the study of McGregor, 7.2% of 55 women with PMS had migraine without aura [24].…”

Effect of Treatment with Ginger on the Severity of Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms

“…In women with PMS, severe headache outbreaks during the luteal phase and an increase in headache resistance to painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs lead to increase in depression, irritability, anxiety, anger, and food intolerance during the luteal phase [37–39]. Cady et al [40] reported that ginger administration caused a significant deceleration in severity of headache in patients with migraine [40].…”

Premenstrual syndrome and migraine

“…Recently, Fragoso et al [8] tried to characterize the type of headache occurring in the PMS and to evaluate its exact prevalence. Their diary-based study showed that migraine without aura was the most common type of headache, being present in 60 % of PMS sufferers, followed by TTH (30 %).…”

“…In women suffering from both MM and PMS, headache attacks tend to be more severe, longer and less responsive to treatment and PMS symptoms are also more disabling when compared with women suffering from TTH during the PMS [8].…”