The prevalence of probable migraine and sleep quality among women aged 20-49 living in a semi-rural area in western Turkey

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONMigraine is a chronic, progressive and debilitating disorder that has important effects on people's lives. 1 Migraine is responsible for 1.3% of years with disability in the world. Also all headaches are responsible for twice of this load. Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders, with a one-year prevalence of approximately 18% in women and 6% in men and typically the highest prevalence occurs between the ages of 25 and 55 years in women.2,3 Attacks of migraine may be precipitated by a number of conditions such as hormonal changes, stress, fatigue and variations in sleep rhythm. 4 Despite all these conditions, the particular mechanisms of migraine precipitation are still unknown. 5Previous studies have found that migraine occurs with other illnesses at a greater coincidental rate than is seen in the general population.6 Migraine patients report sleep disturbances, most notably, increased trouble falling asleep which affects 50% of them. Other complaints include: waking up during night, fear or anxiety when falling asleep, falling asleep sweating, lacking of refreshing sleep, feeling tired upon awakening, snoring and restless movements while asleep.7 Impairment of the patients' quality of sleep and quality of life can be caused not only by the migraine attacks but also by additional problems such as sleep disorders, excessive fatigue and daytime sleepiness. Relationship between sleep quality and migraine has been known for more than a century, yet the exact pathophysiological mechanism of this ABSTRACT Background: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of probable migraine, to examine the factors associated with probable migraine and to assess the level of sleep quality among women aged 20-45 who were living in the county town named Mahmudiye, in Eskisehir, in Turkey. Methods: The study was carried out in all women aged 20-45 years in Mahmudiye. 69.2% of women (n=570) comprised the study group. Questionnaire consisted of three parts: The first part included several socio-demographic, nutritional and health characteristics. The second part included questions about the headache type and third part included Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Migraine type headache was scanned via the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria for migraine. There were eight criteria which were defined by IHS. Individuals who possessed the six of the eight criteria were defined as "probable migraine". Results:The mean age of the participants was 32.8±7.3 years. Prevalence of probable migraine was 13.3% (n=60) and it was significantly higher in women who have been smoking and who had a physician diagnosed chronic diseases. Of the women, 45.1% had poor sleep quality based on the PSQI. The sleep quality of probable migraineurs was found significantly lower than healthy women. Conclusions: To control the probable migraine symptoms and attacks, we suggest to giving regular treatment to women with chronic diseases and reducing the smoking.