Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jan-Dec:18:17455057221111315.
doi: 10.1177/17455057221111315.

Sex hormone-related polymorphisms in endometriosis and migraine: A narrative review

Joy-Fleur van der Vaart  1 , Gabriele Susanne Merki-Feld  1
Affiliations
Review

Sex hormone-related polymorphisms in endometriosis and migraine: A narrative review

Joy-Fleur van der Vaart et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Some evidence indicates endometriosis and migraine have a common genetic predisposition in sex-hormone genes, which could have important implications for the treatment of these two heterogenous conditions. To date, the genes responsibility remains unknown. Based on the biological hypothesis that polymorphisms of genes involved in sex-hormone pathways may influence estrogen levels and phenotypes of both disorders, we did a literature search for candidate sex-hormone genes and genes involved in the metabolism of estradiol. The aim was to review the evidence for shared sex-hormone-related polymorphisms between endometriosis and migraine and provide an exhaustive overview of the current literature. We included case-control studies investigating associations between candidate sex-hormone-related genes and the disorders endometriosis and migraine, respectively. Results showed three overlapping sex-hormone-associated polymorphisms in estrogen receptor genes that are associated with both conditions. To confirm possible associations with other sex-hormone genes, larger studies are needed.

Keywords: endometriosis; migraine; polymorphism; sex hormone genes; sex hormone receptor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of the literature search and study selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zondervan KT, Becker CM, Koga K, et al.. Endometriosis. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2018; 4(1): 9. - PubMed
    1. Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS) The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia 2018; 38(1): 1–211. - PubMed
    1. Nyholt DR, Gillespie NG, Merikangas KR, et al.. Common genetic influences underlie comorbidity of migraine and endometriosis. Genet Epidemiol 2009; 33(2): 105–113. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adewuyi EO, Sapkota Y, International Endogene Consortium (IEC), et al.. Shared molecular genetic mechanisms underlie endometriosis and migraine comorbidity. Genes 2020; 11(3): 268. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zondervan KT, Becker CM, Missmer SA. Endometriosis. N Engl J Med 2020; 382(13): 1244–1256. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances