Migraine: is it related to hormonal disturbances or stress?

Figures & data

Figure 1 Depicting level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in milli-international units per liter among cases of migraine and control.

Figure 2 Depicting higher levels of prolactin (PRL) in milli-international units per liter among cases of migraine without aura in females.

Table 1 Distribution of hormone levels on second day of menstruation among migraine and control groups

Hormone	Control		Migraine		Mann–Whitney test P-value
	Mean (SD)	Median (IQR)	Mean (SD)	Median (IQR)
TSH (mIU/L)	1.67 (0.16)	1.65 (1.51–1.81)	3.90 (2.56)	3.30 (1.51–6.39)	0.081
FT4 (mIU/L)	15.07 (0.93)	15.13 (14.25–15.75)	19.01 (1.35)	18.96 (18.76–19.98)	<0.001
FT3 (mIU/L)	6.09 (1.09)	6.00 (5.20–6.60)	5.19 (0.45)	5.25 (4.85–5.45)	0.004
E2 (mIU/L)	58.89 (7.52)	58.78 (53.50–65.98)	61.37 (26.46)	48.89 (44.34–96.72)	0.086
PRL (mIU/L)	76.07 (8.67)	77.13 (67.57–83.00)	152.70 (30.46)	159.65 (144.15–172.30)	<0.001
LH (mIU/L)	5.97 (1.04)	6.13 (5.34–6.72)	4.63 (2.69)	4.73 (2.10–6.63)	0.091
FSH (mIU/L)	8.98 (11.12)	6.55 (5.81–7.07)	8.38 (4.16)	6.76 (5.51–8.11)	0.478

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range; TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone; FT₄, free thyroxine; FT₃, free triiodothyronine; E₂, estrogen; PRL, prolactin; LH, luteinizing hormone; FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone.

Table 2 Distribution of stress among study participants

Variables	Migraine, n (%)	Control, n (%)	P-value (χ^2 test)
Stress category
No stress	5 (25)	16 (80)	0.002
Stress with anxiety	10 (50)	3 (15)
Stress with depression	5 (25)	1 (5)
Total	20 (100)	20 (100)
Presence of any stress
Present	15 (75)	4 (20)	<0.001
Absent	5 (25)	16 (80)

Note: Odds ratio for stress =12 (95% confidence interval 2.7–53.33).