More Headaches for Women, Study Says

Women are 15% more likely than men to get tension headaches, a study found. And the more education people have, the more headaches they get. The study from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. looked at the routine headaches with rubberband-like pressure. It was based on a 1993-94 telephone survey of 13,345 people in Baltimore County. The study’s lead author, Dr. Brian Schwartz, said it’s not clear why sex and education seem to play a role. However, Schwartz suggested that hormones might play a role in tension headaches in women. Doctors already know women are more likely to get migraine headaches, starting with the onset of menstruation.