| Stress and changes associated with the menstrual cycle are commonly reported precipitants of female chronic headache. The relationship between stress, headache, and menstrual cycle, however, remain complex and poorly understood. The present longitudinal investigation sought to further explore the relationship between stress and headache in each of five menstrual cycle phases.;Time series regression analyses were used to further describe and explain the temporal relationships between stress and menstrual cycle among a small sample of female headache sufferers over a 12-month period. Nine females who met International Headache Society diagnostic criteria for either migraine, with or without aura (n = 5), or tension-type headache (n = 4) recorded headache, stress, and menstrual cycle activity on a daily basis.;Results of the study were somewhat supportive of the hypotheses. Females with tension-type headache reported more headaches throughout the year than migraineurs while the majority of participants in both groups reported most headaches in the premenstrual phase. Headache activity and stress levels were correlated during the same menstrual cycle phase for half of the participants. Stress levels were found to predict headache activity in later menstrual cycle phases approximately as often as headache activity predicted stress levels. The study provided further evidence that stress and menstrual cycle are clearly related to headache activity although there were wide individual differences. |
