Headache
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Characteristics of menstrual vs nonmenstrual migraine: a post hoc, within-woman analysis of the usual-care phase of a nonrandomized menstrual migraine clinical trial.
To compare, using a within-woman analysis, the severity, duration, and relapse of menstrual vs nonmenstrual episodes of migraine during treatment with usual migraine therapy. ⋯ Post hoc, within-woman analysis of migraine treatment episodes categorized based on International Headache Society criteria showed that menstrual treatment episodes were more impairing, longer lasting, and more likely to relapse than nonmenstrual treatment episodes in this selected population of women with frequent menstrual migraine. The current analysis indicates that most of the variability in these outcomes is due to differences between headache types and not within-patient differences for a given type of headache, suggesting that menstrual episodes are potentially treatable. These findings underscore the differences between menstrual and nonmenstrual episodes of migraine and the need to offer effective migraine treatment to women.