Dados do Trabalho

Título

Is there a third villain in the relationship between migraine and sleep impairment?

Introdução

Individuals with chronic migraine often report sleep problems. As one of the main symptoms of migraine is photophobia, less light exposure could interfere with the sleep-wake cycle of patients with chronic migraine.

Objetivo

To investigate whether light exposure is associated with sleep quality in individuals with CM.

Métodos

The study was carried out with 46 individuals, 23 diagnosed with chronic migraine and 23 healthy individuals (ethical approval number: 92552318.6.0000.5208). They were submitted to 15 consecutive days with actimetry (analyzed using the COSINOR method in the El Temps software), to check the rest-activity rhythm and light exposure. At the end of this period, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was applied to assess possible complaints related to sleep. A multiple linear regression model with an interaction effect was applied to assess the association between the variables, considering p<0.05.

Resultados

Individuals with chronic migraine had worse sleep quality (8.7 ± 2.6, P <0.001) than the control group (5.2 ± 2.3). Regarding the actimetric data, it was found that individuals with chronic migraine had a lower rhythmic percentage of light exposure over the days (%V = 4.6, P = 0, 04) when compared to the control group (%V = 7.1). When applying multiple linear regression models with an interaction effect, it was found that a lower amount of light exposure over the days would be one of the predictors for the subjective impairment in sleep quality among individuals with migraine, specifically regarding the light exposure variables: mean estimed statistic over rhythm (β = -0.02; Errorβ = 0.01; r2 = 0.44; P = 0.03) and amplitude of light exposure (β = -0.01; Errorβ = 0.01; r2 = 0.43; P = 0.04).

Conclusões

Migraine could have an indirect action on sleep impairment presented by the individuals based on one of their classic symptoms, which is photophobia. This associated symptom would lead the individual to reduce their light exposure, with consequent desynchronization of the light oscillation system and poor sleep quality.

Acknowledgments: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (APQ-0642-2.07/14). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.

Palavras -chave

Pain, Migraine Disorders, Sleep, Circadian Rhythm, Light.