Hormone therapy safe for women with migraines: study

Team Udayavani, Oct 13, 2017, 4:50 PM IST

Washington: Hormone therapy is safe for treating menopause symptoms in women who suffer from migraines, a study has found. Migraine headaches are common among women, but due to various health risks can be challenging to treat in the elderly.

While hormone therapy is effective in relieving many menopause symptoms, its safe use in women with migraines was unconfirmed. There have been few studies demonstrating the effect of hormone therapy on migraines and subsequent cardiovascular disease.

“Since migraines affect one in every four women and women with migraines are often advised to avoid hormone therapy, these findings may have significant public health implications,” said Jelena Pavlovic, from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US.

Hormones have often not been prescribed for migraine sufferers because of the association between exogenous estrogen use and an increased risk of stroke in women who have migraines. This led to the recommendation that combined oral contraceptives – better known as birth control pills – should be used cautiously or avoided entirely in women with a history of migraines, depending on whether or not the migraines were accompanied by an aura.

Data for 67,903 participants of a clinical trial were analysed to further examine the relationship between migraines and cardiovascular disease events and their interaction with hormone therapy use. It was discovered that women with migraines tended to drink and exercise less than those without migraines and had higher vitamin D and calcium intake. Migraine sufferers were also more likely to have night sweats and hot flashes.

Importantly, researchers did not detect a significant risk of cardiovascular disease events associated with a history of migraines. Most significantly, from the treatment safety perspective, there was no impact from hormone therapy on this relationship.