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Table 1 Primary headaches course during pregnancy

From: Headache and pregnancy: a systematic review

Author

Study design

Sample size

Improvement or remission (%)

Unchanged (%)

Worsening (%)

Extra data

Migraine without aura

 Granella et al. [8]

R

571

67.3

29.2

3.5

Full sample size: 1300 women; 943 had had pregnancies; 571 women with migraine before first pregnancy

 Scharff et al. [9]

P

19

56.7

36.6

6.7

Full sample size: 30; 11/30 with headache onset during pregnancy

 Maggioni et al. [5]

R

81

89.5

7.7

2.5

Full sample size: 430 women, interviewed 3 days after delivery; among them, 81 MO, 12 MA, 33 TTH

 Marcus et al. [10]

P

49

40.8

51

8.2

16 M, 16 TTH, 15 M + TTH. Headache recorded daily during pregnancy and 3 months post-partum

 Granella et al. [11]

R

200

76.8

22.2

1

100 MA and 200 MO as controls

 Mattsson [12]

R

728

81.4

17.6

1

Full sample size: 728; full information available for 102 women

 Sances et al. [13]

P

47

87.2

12.8

0

Full sample size 49: 2 MA, 47 MO

 Kelman [14]

R

504

38.2

27.8

34

Greater improvement in MO patients rather than MA patients

 Ertresvåg et al. [15]

P

410

65.9

19.8

14.4

Full sample size: 1361 women. 410 with M.

 Melhado et al. [16]

P

737

65

26.1

8.9

Full sample size: 1101 women. 737 with M. Data partially derived from graphics

Summary

3346

66.9

25.8

8

 

Migraine with aura

 Maggioni et al. [5]

R

12

83.4

16.6

0

430 women 3 days after delivery; among them, 81 MO, 12 MA, 33 TTH

 Granella et al. [11]

R

100

43.6

48.7

7.7

100 MA and 200 MO as controls

 Mattsson [12]

R

728

78.3

4.3

17.4

Full sample size: 728; full information available for 23 women

Summary

840

68.4

23.2

8.4

 

Tension-type Headache

 Maggioni et al. [5]

R

33

82,1

17,9

0

Full sample size: 430 women, interviewed 3 days after delivery; among them, 81 MO, 12 MA, 33 TTH

 Melhado et al. [16]

P

112

N/A (≈ 60)

N/A (≈ 35)

N/A (≈ 5)

Full sample size: 1101 women. 112 with TTH. Data derived from graphics

Summary

145

 

Cluster Headache

 Van Vliet et al. [31]

R

53

69,9

20,7

9,4

Full sample size: 196 CH; 53 had their first attack before the first pregnancy. 23% of episodic CH patients reported that an “expected” cluster period did not occur during pregnancy. Here improvement includes 8 patients who had a cluster period within 1 month after delivery.

  1. M, migraine; MO, migraine without aura; MA, migraine with aura; TTH, tension type headache; CH, cluster headache