It’s hard to imagine the blinding pain and the debilitating weakness migraine sufferers experience. Migraines are not just severe headaches; they also involve sensitivity to light, sounds and smells, often forcing sufferers to endure their migraines in darkness for days at a time.
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, “migraine is an extraordinarily prevalent neurological disease, affecting 38 million men, women, and children in the U.S. and 1 billion worldwide,” making it the third most prevalent disease in the world. Symptoms can include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and even numbness.
Although the disease affects men, women and children, women are four times more likely to get migraines than men, according to an article published by TIME. So why is it that women are far more susceptible to migraines than men?
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A study from the journal Neurology links fluctuating hormone levels to an increased migraine predisposition. The hormone to blame for this? Estrogen. Research shows that in the days before a woman gets her period, levels of estrogen drop significantly. Those women who get frequent migraines experienced greater drops in estrogen levels than women who do not. Researchers believe it could be this hormone fluctuation among women that prompts migraines.
This evidence could be linked to studies which show that “Before puberty, boys are effected more than girls, but during adolescence, the risk of migraine and its severity rises in girls,” according to the Migraine Research Foundation. As young women start to experience puberty and the hormone swings that come with it, they become more susceptible to migraines.
Men, on the other hand, don’t experience such a significant drop in the male hormone testosterone, which may be why they are far less likely to experience the same frequency and severity of these headaches than women.
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Women who experience migraines know that their work can be severely affected. Because migraines can be debilitating, migraine sufferers often cannot work for days or even weeks at a time. As a result, “Healthcare and lost productivity costs associated with migraine are estimated to be as high as $36 billion annually in the U.S.,” reports the Migraine Research Foundation.
There is no known cure for migraines and few treatments are available. Most of those who endure migraines take painkillers prescribed by a doctor in order to relieve the pain. However, migraine sufferers can develop a tolerance to their medications, which makes it incredibly difficult to find a consistent treatment. To reduce the severity of the migraine, it is encouraged to avoid triggers, mediate or even try out yoga.
Experts hope that this study linking hormone fluctuations to migraines will prompt new and better treatments.
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