Table 1 Influence of menstruation, use of oral contraceptives, pregnancy, and menopause on cluster headache attacks.
| Cluster headache n = 196 | Migraine n = 211 | RR (95% CI) | Healthy controls n = 182 | RR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menstruation | |||||
| Headache before menarche | 7 (4) | 74 (35) | |||
| Non‐ovulatory menstrual cycle | 12 (6) | 26 (12) | 0.50 (0.26 to 0.96) | 11 (6) | 1.01 (0.46 to 2.24) |
| Increased episode severity during menstruation | 17 (9) | 55 (26) | 0.33 (0.20 to 0.55) | – | – |
| Oral contraceptives (OC) | |||||
| Number using OC | 169 | 190 | – | – | – |
| Increase of headache frequency and/or severity using OC | 20 (12) | 54 (28) | – | – | – |
| Decrease of headache frequency and/or severity using OC | 7 (4) | 21 (11) | – | – | – |
| Pregnancy | |||||
| Number ever pregnant | 143 (73) | 147 (70) | 1.05 (0.93 to 1.18) | 136 (75) | 0.98 (0.87 to 1.10) |
| Increase of headache severity during pregnancy | 3 (2) | 7 (5) | 0.44 (0.12 to 1.67) | – | – |
| Increase of headache frequency during pregnancy | 2 (1) | 10 (7) | 0.21 (0.05 to 0.92) | – | – |
| ⩾1 miscarriage | 48 (34) | 54 (37) | 0.91 (0.67 to 1.25) | 29 (21) | 1.57 (1.06 to 2.34) |
| Menopause | |||||
| Number in menopause | 64 (33) | 47 (22) | 1.47 (1.06 to 2.02) | 35 (19) | 1.70 (1.12 to 2.43) |
| Increase of headache severity during menopausal transition | 7 (9) | 16 (25) | 0.32 (0.14 to 0.72) | – | – |
| Increase of headache frequency during menopausal transition | 8 (10) | 32 (51) | 0.18 (0.09 to 0.36) | – | – |
| Hysterectomy and/or ovariectomy | 22 (11) | 11 (5) | 2.15 (1.07 to 4.32) | 7 (4) | 2.92 (1.28 to 6.67) |
Data are mean (SD) or n (%) and RR (95% CI). RR is relative risk of CH patients compared with migraine patients and CH patients compared with healthy volunteers.