Puberty, Sex Hormones and Pain Sensitivity in Adolescents With Migraine

Hormonal Effects of Puberty-Related Alterations on Pain in Adolescents With Migraine

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the relationships between sex hormone levels and experimental pain sensitivity and migraine severity will be examined.

This study will investigate how puberty and variability in sex hormone levels impact pain sensitivity and migraine symptoms.

Hypothesis 1- A significant reduction in pain sensitivity from early to late pubertal status will be found only for adolescents without but not with migraine during pubertal maturation.

Hypothesis 2- Experimental pain sensitivity will be negatively correlated with testosterone levels in adolescents in both groups (with and without migraine).

Exploratory Hypothesis 1- In adolescents with migraine, higher migraine severity (headache frequency and migraine disability) will be associated with lower testosterone levels.

Exploratory hypothesis 2- Adolescents with migraine will have lower testosterone levels than those without.

Inclusion criteria

1. Age between 11-15
2. Males and females
3. English speakers
4. Migraine group: diagnosed with migraine
5. Control group: Healthy, with no first degree relative with migraine

Exclusion criteria:

1. Pregnancy or breastfeeding,
2. Chronic pain (except for migraine for the migraine group), neurological or psychiatric syndromes or syndromes associated with pubertal maturation
3. Use of medications that impact sex hormone levels (i.e., contraceptive pills)