Sex differences in headache sufferers' responsiveness to painful overdistension of the hand-forearm veins.

A short-lasting overdistension of the hand-forearm veins, through the application of the Hand Arm Vein Distension (HAVD) test was carried out on patients suffering from migraine (no. = 102) and females with chronic daily headache (no. = 26): chronic tension-type headache (CTH) and migraine with interparoxysmal headache (MIH). Comparisons were made with a group of healthy controls (no. = 20). The HAVD test induced pain more often in female (65%) than in male migraineurs (14%) and female controls (p < 0.01). No significant difference appeared between male migraineurs and male controls. No significant difference was evidenced between female migraineurs in headache and headache-free periods. Patients with CTH showed less sensitivity to HAVD than those with MIH and migraine (respectively p < 0.01 and p < 0.05) and even a longer latency before the onset of pain. The findings show a stronger extracephalic pain sensitivity in migraineurs than in healthy controls, but sex must be taken into account. The results suggest that pain sensitivity is not correlated with the presence of headache.