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Menstrual Cycle and Headache in Teenagers

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Abstract

Objective

This population-based study on school-aged girls aimed to estimate the rate of peri-menstrual headache, evaluate headache pain pattern during the menstrual cycle, and verify its relationships with physical, psychosocial and life-style factors.

Methods

The students (n = 4973) fulfilled a self-administered questionnaire on demographic and behavioral characteristics, menarche, menstrual pattern and features including headache and dysmenorrhea. The prevalence of headache and the mean pain intensity score at the three menstrual cycle phases (premenstrual, menstrual, in-between period) were estimated, both overall and by gynecological year. Furthermore, the prevalence of three different patterns of headache (peri menstrual/mid-cycle/acyclic) was evaluated, together with the mean pain intensity score.

Results

The overall prevalence of headache at least once at any time during the menstrual cycle was 64.4%. At multivariable logistic analysis, gynecological age (OR 1.07; 95%CI 1.03–1.12), middle social level (1.24; 1.01–1.55, compared to high social level), physical activity (0.67; 0.51–0.89), oral contraceptive use (1.34; 1.04–1.73) and dysmenorrhea (2.30; 1.54–3.42) were significantly associated with headache. Among girls with headache, 83.4% had peri-menstrual headache (44.6% premenstrual, 38.8% menstrual), 3.5% mid-cycle headache and 13.2% acyclic headache. The gynaecological age and dysmenorrhea were significantly associated with the headache pattern (p = 0.03 and p < 0.0001, respectively).

Conclusions

This study suggests that peri-menstrual headache is highly prevalent among adolescents. In girls, the headache rate linearly raises with higher gynecological age; menses-related painful syndromes, such as headache and dysmenorrhea, are strongly interrelated. The anamnesis and monitoring of menstrual health should be mandatory when taking care of girls with headache.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Psychiatric Unit, Local Health and Social Care Services - ULSS 6 Euganea, Padua, Italy

    Luigi Bianchin

  2. Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, Section of Childhood and Adolescence, Foundation IRCCS San Matteo, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Mauro Bozzola

  3. Department of Woman’s and Child Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Antonio Battistella Pier & Franco Rigon

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Sergio Bernasconi

  5. Division of Pediatrics, Department of Mother and Child Health, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy

    Gianni Bona

  6. Department of Pediatrics, “Carlo Poma” Hospital, Mantova, Italy

    Fabio Buzi

  7. Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Ospedale Infantile Regina Margherita, Turin, Italy

    Carlo De Sanctis

  8. Private Accredited Hospital Quisisana, Pediatric and Adolescent Outpatients Clinic, Ferrara, Italy

    Vincenzo De Sanctis

  9. University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Giorgio Tonini

  10. Department of Pediatrics, Regional Hospital of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Giorgio Radetti

  11. Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Science and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Egle Perissinotto

Authors
  1. Luigi Bianchin
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  2. Mauro Bozzola
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  3. Antonio Battistella Pier
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  4. Sergio Bernasconi
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  5. Gianni Bona
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  6. Fabio Buzi
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  7. Carlo De Sanctis
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  8. Vincenzo De Sanctis
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  9. Giorgio Tonini
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  10. Giorgio Radetti
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  11. Franco Rigon
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  12. Egle Perissinotto
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Contributions

DSC: Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, revision of the paper; DSV: Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, revision of the paper; PE: Conception of the scientific question and design of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, draft and revision of the paper; RG: Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, revision of the paper; RF: conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, revision of the paper.

BL: Conception of the scientific question and design of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, draft and revision of the paper; BM: Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, revision of the paper; BPA: Conception of the scientific question, revision of the paper; BS, BG, BF and TG: Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, interpretation of data and revision of the paper. PE will act as guarantor for this paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Egle Perissinotto.

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Bianchin, L., Bozzola, M., Battistella Pier, A. et al. Menstrual Cycle and Headache in Teenagers. Indian J Pediatr 86 (Suppl 1), 25–33 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-018-2829-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-018-2829-3

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