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Why do women have more headaches than men?

2024-02-01 09:46:00, Shëndeti CNA

Why do women have more headaches than men?

Illustrative photo

Although headaches occur equally in boys and girls until puberty, the discomfort seems to persist more in women as they get older, with factors such as hormones and menopause causing them.

About 800 million people worldwide suffer from headaches and migraines, according to the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. People who suffer from migraines and headaches experience a severe throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head. The pain may also be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light or sound. Such a crisis can last hours or days and to be relieved, isolation in dark, quiet rooms or with sedatives is required.

These headaches are more frequent and more intense in women. More specifically, women are 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from headaches than men.

Headaches are most common in women ages 15 to 49, while migraines are more likely to occur during the productive decade around age 30.

In fact, many studies show that women's migraines are more frequent, more damaging and aggravating and last longer than men's migraines. In addition, women are more likely to seek medical attention and prescription drugs to manage pain. Therefore, women who suffer from migraines also tend to have more mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.

However, although decades ago, these headaches were attributed to women's inability to cope with stress, constituting, as many believed, a kind of hysteria, now experts have begun to discover the factors that cause this annoying phenomenon. Although female hormones are the most obvious culprit, other factors may also play an active role.

The role of estrogen

There are several factors why men and women experience migraine attacks differently. These include genetics, how certain genes are turned on or off, and the environment, all of which play a role in shaping the brain's structure, function, and adaptability when it comes to migraines.

So during childhood, both boys and girls are equally likely to experience migraines – with around 10% of all children experiencing them at some point. However, adolescence begins to differentiate this phenomenon.

Some girls experience their first migraine around the time of their first menstrual cycle, with headaches becoming more frequent and severe during a woman's reproductive years. This is mainly due to the fluctuating levels of female sex hormones associated with puberty.

More specifically, estrogen and progesterone, through different mechanisms, play a critical role in the regulation of many biological functions. They affect different chemicals in the brain and contribute to functional and structural changes in specific areas of the brain, leading to the development of migraine.

Migraine during pregnancy and menopause

For pregnant women, migraines can be even worse during the first trimester, a time when morning sickness is common. Also, lack of sleep, proper nutrition and hydration can make migraines more likely.

In addition, migraine attacks may increase during perimenopause, a woman's transition phase to menopause. Again, fluctuating hormone levels, especially estrogen, are the main culprits as they, along with chronic pain, cause the depression and sleep disturbances that can occur during this time.

The good news is that migraines generally tend to decrease during pregnancy. For some women, they even disappear as the pregnancy progresses. Therefore, as menopause progresses, migraines decrease and in some cases disappear completely./ CNA