Cluster headaches are common in men but worse in women

The study included 874 participants with cluster headaches, 66% of whom were men and 34% were women. Participants filled out an extensive questionnaire describing their symptoms, medications, headache triggers, and lifestyle behaviors.

Symptoms of chronic cluster headache

Women are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic cluster headaches than men. Chronic cluster headaches are characterized by repeated episodes of cluster headaches lasting one year or more without interruption or with short asymptomatic episodes lasting less than three months. Chronic cluster headaches were detected in 18% of women compared with 9% of men.

Cluster headaches are more common in men or women

Women are also more susceptible to attacks than men. For example, 8% of women reported headaches lasting an average of four to seven months, compared with 5% of men, and 26% of women reported headaches lasting less than a month, compared with 30% of men. gender.

Women were also 74% more likely than men to say that their attacks occurred at different times of the day. Women have a 15% to 7% higher risk than men when there is a family member with a history of cluster headaches.

“Although the proportions of men and women with cluster headaches have changed over the years, it is still largely considered a male disorder, leaving women with mild symptoms,” says Belin. more difficult to be diagnosed with cluster headaches than men”. “It is possible that this contributes to the increased prevalence of chronic cluster headaches in women.”

One drawback of the study is that participants recount information from memory, so they may not remember everything correctly.

Source: Medindia