[S49.008] Polysomnographic Findings in Children with Headaches

Martina Vendrame, Joseph Kaleyias, Ignacio Valencia, Agustin Legido, Sanjeev Kothare, Philadelphia, PA

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to characterize polysomnographic (PSG) findings in different types of headaches (including migraine headache, tension headache, chronic daily headache and non-specific headache) in a cohort of children identified to have sleep problems during their clinic visits, and to describe differences in their sleep architecture in relation to specific PSG diagnosis. BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that headache and sleep disorders share common pathophysiological mechanisms and have mutual clinical interactions. Although previous studies have suggested a relationship between headache and sleep disturbances, research examining PSG findings in children with headache is not available. DESIGN/METHODS: PSG findings of 90 children with headache and sleep complaints were studied by presence of primary snoring, sleep disordered breathing (SDB), periodic limb movement disorder, bruxism, and alterations in sleep architecture. Correlation with frequency of headache, different sub-types of headaches, and medical treatment was analyzed. RESULTS: Patientss type of headache were migraine (60), chronic daily (11) tension (6), and non-specific headache (13). Migraine headache was a risk factor for SDB (OR =2.1; CI=1.15-5.12). SDB was observed in 56% of children with migraine versus 30% with non-migraine headache). Severe migraine was associated with shorter total sleep time (TST), longer sleep latency (SL), shorter REM and slow wave sleep percentage. Fifty percent of children with tension headache suffered from bruxism versus 2.4% of children with non-tension headache (OR=1.95; CI=1.2-4.34). SDB was also frequent among the non-specific headache patients (54%), in whom SDB children had higher BMI than those without. Children with chronic daily headache had shorter TST and longer SL, shorter REM sleep, and higher arousal index. CONCLUSIONS/RELEVANCE: Our results support an association between migraine headache and SDB, and between tension headache and bruxism in children. Additionally, disrupted sleep architecture in severe migraine and chronic daily headache suggests an intrinsic relationship between these conditions.
Category - Sleep Disorders
SubCategory - Other

Thursday, April 17, 2008 3:15 PM

Scientific Sessions: Sleep Disorders (1:30 PM-3:30 PM)

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