Pil-Wook Chung1, Mi Ji Lee2, Jeong-Wook Park3, Jong-Hee Sohn4, Byung-Kun Kim5, Min Kyung Chu6, Jae Myun Chung7, Jin-Young Ahn8, Yun-Ju Choi9, Soo-Kyoung Kim10, Dae-Woong Bae11, Daeyoung Kim12, Heui-Soo Moon1, Chin-Sang Chung2, Soo-Jin Cho13. 1. Department of Neurology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 2. Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 3. Department of Neurology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, Uijeongbu, South Korea. 4. Department of Neurology, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, South Korea. 5. Department of Neurology, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University, Seoul, South Korea. 6. Department of Neurology, Severance hospital, Seoul, South Korea. 7. Department of Neurology, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 8. Department of Neurology, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea. 9. Department of Neurology, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, South Korea. 10. Department of Neurology, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, South Korea. 11. Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea. 12. Department of Neurology, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea. 13. Department of Neurology, Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong, South Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Most of the clinical characteristics of cluster headache (CH) have been established through the observation of men with CH. Epidemiological data of CH in women are scarce especially in the Asian population. Here, we sought to assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of women with CH in comparison to men in a prospective CH registry. METHODS: Data used in this study were obtained from the Korean Cluster Headache Registry, a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter headache registry that collected data from consecutive patients diagnosed with CH. Demographics and clinical characteristics were compared between the sexes. RESULTS: In total, 250 patients were enrolled in this study; 41 (16.4%) were women (male to female ratio 5.1:1). Mean age of onset did not differ between women and men (30.7 ± 15.5 vs 29.0 ± 11.1 years). The clinical features of CH in women and men were similar, with no differences in pain severity, duration, and attack frequency. Among autonomic features, facial and forehead sweating was significantly rare in women (4.9%) compared to men with CH (33.0%). Headache-related disability assessed by Headache Impact Test-6 did not differ between the sexes; however, depression scale assessed by Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (11.0 ± 8.5 vs 7.0 ± 5.8, P = .009) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale 4, 7.5 ± 3.4 vs 6.4 ± 3.0, P = .045) were significantly higher in women with CH. CONCLUSIONS: Although decreasing male preponderance was suggested in recent Western CH studies, CH in women is still far less prevalent than in men in the Korean population. Clinical and demographic characteristics were similar between the sexes. However, psychiatric comorbidities might be highly associated in women with CH.
BACKGROUND: Most of the clinical characteristics of cluster headache (CH) have been established through the observation of men with CH. Epidemiological data of CH in women are scarce especially in the Asian population. Here, we sought to assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of women with CH in comparison to men in a prospective CH registry. METHODS: Data used in this study were obtained from the Korean Cluster Headache Registry, a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter headache registry that collected data from consecutive patients diagnosed with CH. Demographics and clinical characteristics were compared between the sexes. RESULTS: In total, 250 patients were enrolled in this study; 41 (16.4%) were women (male to female ratio 5.1:1). Mean age of onset did not differ between women and men (30.7 ± 15.5 vs 29.0 ± 11.1 years). The clinical features of CH in women and men were similar, with no differences in pain severity, duration, and attack frequency. Among autonomic features, facial and forehead sweating was significantly rare in women (4.9%) compared to men with CH (33.0%). Headache-related disability assessed by Headache Impact Test-6 did not differ between the sexes; however, depression scale assessed by Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (11.0 ± 8.5 vs 7.0 ± 5.8, P = .009) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale 4, 7.5 ± 3.4 vs 6.4 ± 3.0, P = .045) were significantly higher in women with CH. CONCLUSIONS: Although decreasing male preponderance was suggested in recent Western CH studies, CH in women is still far less prevalent than in men in the Korean population. Clinical and demographic characteristics were similar between the sexes. However, psychiatric comorbidities might be highly associated in women with CH.