Some Birth Control Pills Less Likely to Cause Headaches – Study Links Oral Contraceptives to Migraine and non-Migraine Headaches

March 2nd 2006

Mircette Contraceptives

An article in the journal Neurology indicates that there may be a link between birth control pills and headaches. Women on birth control pills are 40 percent more likely to suffer from migraines, and 20 percent more likely to suffer from non-migraine headaches.

According to a recent report on ABC News, birth control pills can boost estrogen levels up to four times their normal levels. The estrogen levels drop fast near menstruation.

The report said that physicians could prescribe women an estrogen patch to be used two or three days before their period so that levels don’t drop so steeply. This may help explain why women are more susceptible to migraines than men, although the researchers could not find a link between the amount of hormones contained in the pills and headache risk.

The data was extrapolated from 13,944 women included in the Nord-Trondelag Health Study in Norway. The women were questioned about both the use of oral contraceptives and their headaches.

In a report by NBC News the studies lead author, Dr. Karen Aegidius of the Norwegian National Headache Center in Trondheim, suggests that women stay on estrogen for three consecutive months, so they experience headaches just four times a year rather than every month.

Not all pills are the same, according to a Reuters report. Dr. Aegidius pointed out that the Mircette oral contraceptive will cause a slower rate of decline in estrogen. She says this may reduce headache risk. Mircette is currently available in the US, but not Europe.