Anna Hartz
Migraines affect millions of people, but they hit young women especially hard.
Research shows that hormones play a major role in migraine attacks. Before puberty, boys and girls experience migraines at about the same rate. After girls start menstruating, the condition becomes up to three times more common in women than in men of the same age.
Hormonal Changes
Javier Díaz de Terán, head of the Headache Unit at La Paz Hospital, spoke about this during a discussion on migraines in young people, writes El Economista. He said migraines are a neurological disease that can seriously affect school performance, social life, and overall quality of life.
For adolescent girls, migraines are especially tough because of hormonal changes. Díaz de Terán explained that the brain reacts strongly to changes in hormone levels. Drops in estrogen, for example, can trigger severe migraine attacks. This is why women tend to experience more migraines than men once they start menstruating.
In Spain, about a third of the population suffers from migraines. Among adolescents and young adults, estimates suggest between 10% and 28% are affected. The rates are equal for boys and girls before puberty. After the first period, the prevalence among girls rises sharply.
Heat Waves
Díaz de Terán also described a type of migraine called “pure catamenial,” which occurs only during menstruation or just before it. These attacks are intense and particularly debilitating. Around 6% to 20% of women experience migraines linked to their menstrual cycle. For women who already have migraines, 60% notice their attacks get worse during this time.
Jordi Miró, director of the Chair of Childhood Pain at Rovira i Virgili University, added that girls may become more sensitive to pain because of menstruation. This makes them react more strongly than boys to even mild triggers.
Migraines are often linked to other conditions that react to environmental factors, like asthma. Díaz de Terán said migraine sufferers’ brains are in a constant state of alert.
Both experts also warned about climate change. Rising temperatures and heat waves can increase migraine attacks in young people. Díaz de Terán said August has been the worst month for migraines in his ten years of experience. Miró called heat and environmental stress “additional triggers” that can worsen the condition. Both agreed that summer heat waves cause a clear spike in migraine cases among adolescents.
