Endometriosis and the diagnosis of different forms of migraine: an association with dysmenorrhoea

Abstract

Research question: Women with endometriosis are frequently affected by headache. How many of these have a clear diagnosis of migraine? Are the different forms of migraine related to the phenotypes and/or characteristics of endometriosis?

Design: This was a prospective nested case-control study. A consecutive series of 131 women with endometriosis who attended the endometriosis clinic were enrolled and examined for the presence of headache. A headache questionnaire was used to determine the characteristics of the headaches, and the diagnosis of migraine was confirmed by a specialist. The case group included women with endometriosis and a diagnosis of migraine, while the control group included women with only endometriosis. History, symptoms and other comorbidities were collected. A pelvic pain score and associated symptoms were assessed using a visual analogue scale.

Results: A diagnosis of migraine was made in 53.4% (70/131) of participants. Pure menstrual migraine was reported by 18.6% (13/70), menstrually related migraine by 45.7% (32/70) and non-menstrual migraine by 35.7% (25/70). Dysmenorrhoea and dysuria were significantly more frequent in patients with endometriosis and migraine than in those without migraine (P = 0.03 and P = 0.01). No difference was found for other variables, including age at diagnosis and duration of endometriosis, endometriosis phenotype, the presence of other autoimmune comorbidities or heavy menstrual bleeding. In most patients with migraine (85.7%) the headache symptoms had started years before the diagnosis of endometriosis.

Conclusion: The occurrence of headache in many patients with endometriosis is associated with the presence of different forms of migraine, is related to pain symptoms and often precedes the diagnosis of endometriosis.

Keywords: Dysmenorrhoea; Endometriosis; Headache; Menstrual migraine; Migraine; Pain.