Sleep disturbances in 'migraine without aura'--a questionnaire based study

To evaluate the sleep abnormalities in patients with 'migraine without aura' in comparison to an age and gender matched control population.

Ninety patients with 'migraine without aura' who were not on migraine prophylaxis were prospectively recruited. Ninety age/gender matched healthy controls were recruited from a cohort of 1150 individuals who were for detection of the prevalence of sleep abnormalities in the general population. The frequency and duration of migraine attacks/disability was assessed using the migraine disability assessment score (MIDAS) scale. Sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness were assessed using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). NIMHANS comprehensive sleep disorders questionnaire (NCSDQ) was used to screen for various sleep abnormalities.

Among the 90 patients, 60 patients (66.7%) had a poor sleep quality as determined by a PSQI score of ≥6 as against 7 controls (7.8%) and this was statistically significant (p=0.001). Thirteen patients (14.4%) had excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) as measured by ESS score of ≥ 11 as compared to 1.1% in the controls (p=0.001). Patients with 'migraine without aura' have a much higher prevalence of non-refreshing sleep, nocturnal sweating and morning dryness of mouth as compared to healthy controls (p=0.001). They also had a higher prevalence of sleep paralysis, restless legs syndrome, nocturnal myoclonic jerks and sedative usage as compared to the controls (p=0.001).

Patients with 'migraine without aura' have a much higher prevalence of sleep abnormalities as compared to controls which may be due to multiple contributory factors.