Female headaches – signs, frequency

In the study of pain response in experimental conditions, it was found that tolerance to pain and the pain sensitivity threshold in women is lower than in men. Women feel painful stimuli earlier and sharper than males. This increased sensitivity to pain may explain the higher prevalence of many pain syndromes (including headache) among the female population. The most common types of headaches are more common in females.

Proportional ratio of frequency of headaches depending on gender

In women, headaches, especially migraines, are associated with varying levels of estrogen. Estrogens play an important role in modulating pain. Cyclic changes in estradiol levels often provoke or exacerbate headache.

It is believed that the increase in estrogen levels (for example, during pregnancy) and the cessation of the menstrual cycle (in particular, after the onset of menopause) is associated with a decrease in headache.