The Association of Migraine with Menstrually Related Mood Disorders and Childhood Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Background: Both female reproductive hormones and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are implicated in migraine and in menstrually related mood disorders (MRMD). We examined the association of migraine, including migraine with aura (MA), and history of MRMD or CSA. Methods: A total of 174 women (mean age 33.9 -7.6 years) in this cross-sectional study were evaluated for (1) current MRMD using prospective daily ratings; (2) history of CSA using structured interview; and (3) MA and migraine without aura using the International Classification of Headaches Disorders II criteria. Results: Ninety-six women met MRMD criteria (21 of whom had history of CSA) and 78 women were non-MRMD controls (16 with CSA histories). Migraine with aura was more prevalent in women with MRMD when compared to non-MRMD controls (11/88 and 0/86, respectively, p = 0.001). In MRMD women only, a CSA history was associated with higher MA rates (6/21 and 5/67, respectively, p = 0.019). A combination of current MRMD diagnosis and a history CSA was associated with increased risk for MA, even after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio = 12.08, 95% confidence interval 2.98-48.90, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Women with MRMD may be vulnerable to the development of MA, and a history of CSA in women with a MRMD appears to increase that vulnerability. MRMDs and MA should be included among other poor mental and physical health outcomes of an abuse history. Routine screening for abuse histories would potentially improve identification of women with increased risk of experiencing abuse-related disorders.

Mental health indicators fifty years later: A population-based study of men with histories of child sexual abuse

“…It is possible that CSA exerts a different effect on depressive symptoms at different life stages for men. Similar to female survivors (Coles et al, 2015; Bunevicius et al, 2013), male survivors in our study were also more likely to experience long-term somatic problems than men without abuse histories. This finding is inconsistent with those from Spataro et al(2004), again, possibly due to the different mean age of participants.…”

“…Nelson, Baldwin, and Taylor (2012) completed an integrative literature review and found that adults with a history of CSA are more likely to experience medically unexplained symptoms (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome) than adults with no abuse history. Other studies with convenience samples of women have found that CSA is related to a greater likelihood of experiencing bodily pain (Coles et al, 2015) and migraine headaches (Bunevicius et al, 2013) in early and middle adulthood. One prospective study that included male survivors, however, found no association between CSA and somatic problems (Spataro et al, 2004).…”

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a Promising Intervention for Amelioration of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Symptoms

“…For a different protocol (Bunevicius et al, 2013; Klatzkin, Bunevicius, Forneris, & Girdler, 2014), these women had completed daily mood ratings using the DRSP over several months and 39 of the women had undergone pain testing with both pain tests on two occasions approximately eight weeks apart. However, these women had no intervention over the course of their participation.…”

Repercussões do abuso sexual vivenciado na infância e adolescência: revisão integrativa

“…Depression was also highlighted as one of the impacts of sexual abuse, being mentioned by four of the studies included in this review. One of the studies estimated that 33% (n = 174) of sexual abuse survivors had depression 22 and two reported a positive association between childhood abuse and the disorder 23,24 . It is important to stress just how damaging depression can be, especially at particular life stages, such as pregnancy and the post-partum period 25 .…”

“…Somatization was evident in the articles in the form of headaches and metabolic disorders. Tietjen et al 40 shows that people abused in childhood can experience tension-type headaches, while Bunevicius et al 23 point to a greater chance of developing migraines without or with auras, where the latter is associated with vision or sensory disturbances.…”