Sex differences in the clinical manifestations related to dependence behaviors in medication-overuse headache

The present study aimed to compare sex differences in the clinical manifestations related to dependence behaviors in medication-overuse headache (MOH).

Consecutive patients with newly diagnosed chronic migraine (CM) with and without MOH based on the Third Edition of International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) were enrolled prospectively from the headache clinic of a tertiary medical center. Demographics and clinical profiles were collected by using a questionnaire, which included current use of tobacco, alcohol, and caffeinated beverages, the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ), the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

In total, 1419 CM patients (1135F/284 M, mean age 41.7 ± 13.9 years) were recruited, including 799 with MOH (640F/159 M, mean age 42.5 ± 13.2 years) (56.3%). Smoking was associated with an increased risk for MOH in men (odds ratio [OR] = 3.60 [95% confidence interval = 1.73-7.50], p = 0.001), but not in women (OR = 1.34 [0.88-2.04], p = 0.171) (p = 0.021 for interaction). Hypnotic use ≥ 3 days/week was a risk factor for MOH (OR = 2.55 [95% confidence interval = 2.00-3.24], p < 0.001), regardless of sex. By using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, the cutoff scores of the LDQ for MOH were determined at 7 for women and 6 for men, and those for the SDS were 5 and 4, respectively (area under curve all ≥ 0.83). Among patients with MOH, the male sex was associated with a shorter latency between migraine onset and CM onset (12.9 ± 11.1 vs. 15.4 ± 11.5 years, p = 0.008), despite less average headache intensity (6.7 ± 1.9 vs. 7.2 ± 1.9, p = 0.005), functional impacts (HIT-6: 63.4 ± 8.3 vs. 65.1 ± 8.0, p = 0.009), and sleep disturbances (PSQI: 10.9 ± 4.4 vs. 12.2 ± 4.3, p = 0.001).

The current study identified an association between smoking and MOH in men, as well as sex-specific cutoffs of the LDQ and the SDS, for MOH. MOH was characterized by a shorter latency between migraine onset and CM onset in men and a more severe phenotype in women. Sex should be considered as an important factor in the evaluation of MOH.