Endometriosis and migraine strongly linked

21 May Endometriosis and migraine strongly linked

There is a significant association between migraine and endometriosis, according to a French case-control study.

They suggest that in clinical practice, women of reproductive age who suffer from migraine should be screened for endometriosis criteria in order to optimise the medical and therapeutic care of this condition.

Studies have shown a significant association between migraine and endometriosis, but no study had explored the relationship between migraine and endometriosis phenotypes: superficial peritoneal endometriosis, ovarian endometrioma, and deep infiltrating endometriosis.

The researchers conducted a case-control study using data collected from 314 women aged 18 to 42 years who had undergone surgery for benign gynecological conditions between January 2013 and December 2015.

All women completed a self-administered headache questionnaire according to the IHS classification. Cases: 182 were women with histologically proven endometriosis and 132 controls were women without endometriosis.

According to the study results:

• Migraine prevalence in cases was significantly higher compared with controls (35.2% vs. 17.4%).

• The risk of endometriosis was significantly higher in migrainous women (OR = 2.62; 95% CI = 1.43–4.79).

• When endometriosis phenotypes were taken into account, the risk of ovarian endometrioma and deep infiltrating endometriosis were significant (OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.11–6.98 and OR = 2.51; 95% CI = 1.25–5.07, respectively).

• In women with endometriosis, the intensity of chronic non-cyclical pelvic pain was significantly greater for those with migraine (visual analogic scale (VAS) = 3.6 ± 2.9) compared with the women without headache (VAS = 2.3 ± 2.8, p = 0.0065).

With an estimated global prevalence of 14.7%, migraine is the most disabling neurologic disorder and the third most common illness worldwide

Like endometriosis, women in their reproductive and most productive years are more commonly affected with migraine.

Increased exposure to menstruation is a known risk factor for endometriosis just as menstrual migraine and menstrually-related migraine (with prevalence varying from 4%-70%) are common subtypes of migraine in women.

Danazol (a synthetic androgen for managing endometriosis) has been reported to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks.

Read more: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0333102419893965