Survey study, 2015
Does migraine increase during menopause, and can hormone therapy help?
Women who had PMS before menopause are more likely to experience increased migraine during the menopausal transition. Continuous hormone replacement therapy, particularly using skin patches or gels, may help prevent hormone-related migraine attacks.
What they did
The author reviewed existing knowledge about migraine occurrence during the menopausal transition and discussed the use of hormone replacement therapy. This was not a clinical trial but a narrative review of existing research.
What they found
Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle influence migraine occurrence and intensity. Women who had PMS before menopause are more likely to have increased migraine during late menopausal transition. Continuous hormone replacement therapy, especially skin patches and estradiol gels rather than oral pills, helps prevent sudden estrogen drops and related migraine attacks. Natural menopause is associated with lower migraine rates than surgical menopause.
What it means for you
If you had PMS or migraine before menopause, you may experience increased migraine during menopause. Hormone therapy given continuously without breaks, particularly via skin patches or gels, may help prevent migraine attacks. Findings are based on expert review of existing research rather than a clinical trial.
Continuous
required dosing pattern
Patch > oral
best therapy delivery method
Prior PMS
risk factor for worse migraine
About the study
- Original title
- Migraine in perimenopausal women
- Authors
- Allais G, Chiarle G, Bergandi F et al.
- Journal
- Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Hormone replacement therapy via continuous patch or gel dosing
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2155-8
Topics
Related studies
Survey study, 2003
Does migraine risk change during menopause in women with PMS?
Randomised trial, 2006
Is PMS severity linked to how bad your migraines are?
Systematic review, 2023
What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy?
Randomised trial, 2025
Can soy isoflavone supplements help with PMS and PMDD symptoms?
Non-randomised trial, 2014
Does hormone therapy help women with depression linked to periods and menopause?
Survey study, 2001
Can hormonal changes cause headaches?