Relationships between sleep and headache in non-clinical population

Abstract

Introduction The relationship between sleep and headache has been documented over a century. Migraine significantly impairs daytime function, it has been demonstrated to be associated with poor sleep quality in cross-sectional study of small clinical population. In this study, we aimed to explore evaluate the association of migraine and non-migrainous headache with sleep in the general population. Materials and methods A total of 2886 Korean general population were recruited, and they filled out the questionnaires after instructions of interviewer. The questionnaires included questions related sleep parameters involving Bedtime, Risetime, Mid sleep time, total sleep time, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The final sample included 2550 participants (51.2% females; age range 19–69 years), which were divided into three groups as migraine group, non- migrainous headache group and headache-free group, based on International classification of headache disorders 2nd edition (ICHD-2) criteria. Results According to ICHD-2 criteria, we classified 5.2% of study population as migraineur. Migraine group and non-migrainous headache group significantly showed late circadian preference (p = 0.002), poor sleep quality ( 0.001), daytime sleepiness (p = 0.038) and insomnia ( 0.001), after adjustment of age, gender and depression scale. No significant associations have been found between migraine group and non-migraine group about above mentioned sleep parameters after post hoc analyses. Conclusion The aim of the study was to evaluate associations between sleep patterns and headache in a large non-clinical population. Migraine and non-migrainous headache group showed significantly poorer sleep quality, insomnia and daytime sleepiness. Also, late circadian preference was shown in headache group, compared with headache-free group.