Women more likely to experience chronic cluster headache

SWEDEN: Cluster headache, sometimes known as “suicide headache”, have been described as a predominantly male disease. New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now shows that women who have the disease are more affected in their daily lives.

They have longer periods of pain, a higher frequency of related symptoms, use more prophylactic medicine and take more sick leave. The results are published in two studies in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

 About the institute

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities. Our vision is to advance knowledge about life and strive towards better health for all. Karolinska Institutet accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical research conducted in Sweden and offers the country’s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.