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Abstract
The prevalence and characteristics of primary headaches in a large sample of postmenopausal
women were investigated. Seventy-six out of 556 women (13.7%) were affected by headache
of either the migraine or tension type. In 82% of cases onset had preceded the menopause.
The postmenopausal course of headaches with a premenopausal onset differed according
to type of headache and type of menopause. Indeed, while migraine improved in almost
two-thirds of cases, tension-type headache worsened or did not change in 70% of cases.
However, in women who had undergone surgical ovariectomy, the natural course of migraine
was worse than in those who had a physiological menopause (P = 0.003). Among the symptoms covered by the Kuppermann Index, only anxiety and insomnia
were correlated with headache. The favourable course of migraine in the postmenopausal
period can be attributed primarily to the absence of variations in sex hormone levels
although psychological factors also seem to play a fundamental role.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 4,
1992
Received in revised form:
April 24,
1992
Received:
January 27,
1992
Identification
Copyright
© 1993 Published by Elsevier Inc.
