The Association between Migraine and Types of Sleep Disorder

Background: Migraines gradually increase year by year, as does its burden. Management and prevention are needed to reduce such burdens. Previous studies have suggested that daily health behaviors can cause migraines. Sleep is a substantial part of daily life, and in South Korea, the average sleep duration is shorter than in other countries. Thus, this study focused on the increase of both diseases, and analyzed sleep disorders as a risk factor for migraines. Methods: The data used in this study was that of the national health insurance service (NHIS) national sample cohort. We used a matched cohort study design that matched non-patients based on patients with sleep disorders, and included 133,262 patients during 2012–2015. We carried out a survival analysis using a Cox proportional hazard model with time-dependent covariates to identify the association between migraines and sleep disorders. Results: Approximately 11.72% of patients were diagnosed with migraines. Sleep disorders were positively correlated with the diagnosis of migraine (Hazard Ratio, 1.591; p < 0.0001). By the types of sleep disorder, patients who were diagnosed as having insomnia, rather than other types of sleep disorder, had the greatest associations with migraine. The associations were greater for males, people with lower income, the elderly population, and patients with mild comorbid conditions. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that migraine is associated with sleep disorders, especially insomnia. Based on these findings, healthcare professionals and policy makers have to reconsider the present level of insurance coverage for sleep medicine, recognize the risk of sleep-related diseases and educate patients about the need for appropriate care.