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Polysomnographic findings in children with headaches

Martina Vendrame1, Joseph Kaleyias, Ignacio Valencia

  • 1Section of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Pediatric Neurology
|June 17, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children with migraine show higher rates of sleep-disordered breathing, while those with tension headaches often have bruxism. Severe headaches disrupt sleep architecture, suggesting a deep link between sleep and pediatric headaches.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Clinical Research

Background:

  • Previous research suggests a link between headaches and sleep issues in children.
  • Polysomnographic (PSG) findings in pediatric headache patients are not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate polysomnographic findings in children experiencing headaches.
  • To correlate PSG data with headache type, severity, BMI, and treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Polysomnography was conducted on 90 children diagnosed with migraine, chronic migraine, tension headache, or nonspecific headache.
  • Data analysis focused on sleep-disordered breathing, sleep architecture, body mass index, and headache characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Sleep-disordered breathing was more prevalent in migraine (56.6%) and nonspecific headache (54%) groups compared to chronic migraine (27%).
  • Tension headache was not linked to sleep-disordered breathing but showed a higher incidence of bruxism (50%).
  • Severe and chronic migraines correlated with reduced sleep time, increased sleep latency, and diminished REM and slow-wave sleep.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support an association between pediatric migraine and sleep-disordered breathing.
  • A link between tension headache and bruxism in children is suggested.
  • Disrupted sleep architecture in severe/chronic migraines indicates an intrinsic relationship between sleep and headache disorders in children.

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