Characterization of headaches in the premenstrual tension syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Characterization of headaches in premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Although headache is one of the symptoms for PMS, no details on this headache are given by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) criteria. METHOD: A group of 45 fertile age women presenting PMS were invited to complete a registration diary for headache and PMS symptoms for three consecutive months. The diary included details of each headache attack, allowing for classification according to the International Headache Society criteria (IHS-2004). RESULTS: Migraine without aura was the most common type of headache in PMS (n=27, 60%), followed by tension type headache (n=15, 30%). Only in two cases the type of headache varied among the observed months, and only in one case the diagnosis could not be concluded by the IHS-2004 criteria. CONCLUSION: Better clinical and therapeutic approach to headache in PMS can be achieved if the patient's type of headache could be properly characterized.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fragoso,Yara Dadalti, Guidoni,Andrea Cristina Rodrigues, Castro,Luciana Brites Ribeiro de
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO 2009
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2009000100010
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Characterization of headaches in premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Although headache is one of the symptoms for PMS, no details on this headache are given by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) criteria. METHOD: A group of 45 fertile age women presenting PMS were invited to complete a registration diary for headache and PMS symptoms for three consecutive months. The diary included details of each headache attack, allowing for classification according to the International Headache Society criteria (IHS-2004). RESULTS: Migraine without aura was the most common type of headache in PMS (n=27, 60%), followed by tension type headache (n=15, 30%). Only in two cases the type of headache varied among the observed months, and only in one case the diagnosis could not be concluded by the IHS-2004 criteria. CONCLUSION: Better clinical and therapeutic approach to headache in PMS can be achieved if the patient's type of headache could be properly characterized.