Assessment and treatment of sleep problems in pediatric patients with chronic headache is important, with several contextual and headache diagnostic factors influencing the severity of sleep disturbance, according to a recent retrospective chart review. Researchers evaluated 527 patients, aged 7-17 years, with a primary headache diagnosis of migraine (n=278), tension-type headache (TTH; n=157), and new daily persistent-headache (NDPH; n=92). Patients completed measures of disability, anxiety, and depression and their parents completed measures of sleep disturbance. They found:
- Sleep disturbance was greater in patients with TTH (10.34 ± 5.94) and NDPH (11.52 ± 6.40) than migraine (8.31 ± 5.89).
- Across patient groups, greater sleep disturbance was significantly associated with higher levels of functional disability, anxiety, and depression.
- Additionally, higher pain levels were significantly associated with greater sleep disturbance among TTH patients, with this association non-significant among the other headache groups.
- When simultaneously examining demographic, pain-related, and emotional distress factors, older age, higher levels of disability and depression, and NDPH diagnosis were all significant predictors of greater sleep disturbance.
Pediatric headache and sleep disturbance: A comparison of diagnostic groups. Headache. 2018;58(2):217-228. doi:10.1111/head.13207.