Health-Care Seeking Behavior and Treatment of Menstrual Migraine among Danish Women—A Social Media Study

Abstract

An estimated 4–8% of all women, and 16–25% of women with migraine, have menstrual migraine (MM), which causes considerable disability, but is underdiagnosed and undertreated. We investigated the burden of disease, health-care seeking behavior, and treatment practices among women with MM, using social media. In 12 days, 6246 women answered an online survey, allowing for diagnosis of MM by the International Classification of Headache Disorders third edition (ICHD-3). In total, 47% had MM, 21% had non-menstrual migraine (nMM), and 15% had probable menstrual migraine (pMM). Among women with MM, 61% had missed out on school/work and 69% on family, leisure, or social activities in the last 3 months. Fifty-four percent had consulted a health-care practitioner about their MM, of whom thirty-seven percent had received information about medical treatment of MM. A total of 85% used medicine in connection with MM, either over-the-counter medication only (57%), prescription medication only (24%), or both. Social media offers an efficient and less expensive recruitment platform for population-based studies on MM and is a useful tool to raise public awareness about MM. Moreover, this study confirms the significant impact of MM on women’s everyday lives and the challenges it poses to their regular activities.