Sleep disorders in children with chronic headaches
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Headaches and sleep disorders are common childhood complaints that both have
detriments to the proper development of a child. It has been found that children with
headaches have an increased association with sleep disorders when compared to their
healthy counterparts. It has also been demonstrated that children with other chronic pain
conditions, such as gastrointestinal or musculoskeletal conditions, have increased
associations with sleep disorders. Neither groups have been compared to one another
with regard to prevalence of sleep disturbance.
LITERATURE REVIEW FINDINGS: This proposal includes a detailed literature review which is comprised mostly of cross sectional studies. The literature review discusses the large body of evidence that
examines the relationship of headaches and sleep disorders in childhood. However, this
review also highlights the limitations in the understanding of the importance of sleep to
pediatric painful conditions in general, and specifically what difference exist between
sleep in different types of chronic pain in children.
PROPOSED PROJECT: This cross-sectional study will evaluate the relationship between sleep disturbances and chronic pain disorders in children, which include headaches, inflammatory bowel disease,
and juvenile arthritis. The goal of this research is to examine whether sleep disturbance is
more common in children with headaches as compared to other pediatric chronic pain
conditions.
CONCLUSIONS: This research will compare prevalence rates of sleep disturbances to evaluate if the
prevalence will be greater in children with headaches as compared to other chronic pain
conditions. Additionally, this study will determine if there is a difference in prevalence of
sleep disturbances in children with headache subgroups. The completed research will
further examine and build upon the existing knowledge regarding the relationship
between pain and sleep.