ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Up to 60% of women relate their episodes of headache to menstrual cycle. Menstrual migraine has been included in the second edition of the International Classification of Headache disorders. Menstrual tension-type headache has not yet been recognised by the International Headache Society. AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of different subtypes of menstrual headache and to analyze their clinical features and the treatment prescribed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively included women attending several neurology outpatient clinics, from January to November 2008 whose headache appeared during the menstrual period. RESULTS: A total of 108 patients were included during the study period. Mean age was 34.8 ± 8.9 years-old. 29.3% suffered from pure menstrual migraine, 58.7% from menstrual related migraine, 4.5% from pure menstrual tension-type headache and 7.5% from menstrual related tension type headache. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that menstrual related tension-type headaches exist with a prevalence found about 12%, in our neurology outpatient clinics.
