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Published on: August 11, 2021
Is being a night owl associated with higher migraine-related disability in patients with migraine?
Erkan Acar1, Zeynep Özdemir2, Pinar Yalinay Dikmen1
1Department of Neurology, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Introduction:
Emerging evidence suggests that circadian rhythms may influence migraine pathophysiology through interactions between sleep-wake regulation and pain modulation pathways. This study aimed to investigate the association between chronotype and migraine-related disability in patients with migraine.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional observational study, 200 patients with migraine and 110 healthy controls were included. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), chronotype was evaluated using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and migraine-related disability was measured using the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS). Episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM) subgroups were also compared.
Results:
Migraine patients exhibited poorer sleep quality (PSQI: 7.28 vs. 4.37, p < 0.001), with chronic migraine (CM) patients showing the highest disability (MIDAS: 36.17 vs. 9.63, p < 0.001). No significant difference in chronotype distribution was observed between groups (p = 0.48). Morning chronotypes had lower MIDAS scores (16.95 ± 16.17) compared to intermediate (23.93 ± 22.28) and evening types (23.55 ± 20.85), though differences were non-significant (p = 0.082).
Discussion:
While chronotype does not directly correlate with migraine-related disability, poor sleep quality in migraine patients, particularly those with CM, underscores the need for sleep-focused interventions.
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