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Kiefer Cowie, MA
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Job Title
Clinical Psychology Intern
Academic Rank
Department
Psychiatry
Authors
Kiefer Cowie, MA; Mary O’Neal, MD; Chelsea K. Pike, BA; Jessica Lipschitz, PhD
Principal Investigator
Jessica Lipschitz, PhD
Research Category: Psychiatry/Mental Health
Tags
Background: Migraine disproportionately affecting women, is the third most prevalent health concern and the seventh highest cause of disability worldwide. Advancing understanding of how triggers such as sleep and stress are related to migraine occurrence may inform prevention strategies.
Methods: 30 adult women (mean age = 38.9) with documented diagnosis of episodic migraine with or without aura completed baseline self-report measures of sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) in addition to providing daily momentary ecological assessment data on headache and migraine occurrence for 84 days post-baseline.
Results: Simple linear regression was used to test if baseline sleep quality and perceived stress were related to proportion of days where participants experienced migraine or headache. There was a statistically significant relationship between baseline sleep quality and migraine occurrence (β = 0.414, p = 0.023). Conversely, the relationship between baseline perceived stress and migraine occurrence was not significant (β = 0.022, p = 0.910).
Conclusions: Findings highlight the important relationship between sleep and migraine occurrence and raise questions about the relationship between stress and migraine. Further investigation of the intricate, longitudinal relationship between these two variables and migraine may enhance prevention and intervention.
Background: Migraine disproportionately affecting women, is the third most prevalent health concern and the seventh highest cause of disability worldwide. Advancing understanding of how triggers such as sleep and stress are related to migraine occurrence may inform prevention strategies.
Methods: 30 adult women (average age = 38.9) with documented diagnosis of episodic migraine with or without aura completed baseline self-report measures of sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) in addition to providing assessment data from daily smartphone questionnaires on headache and migraine occurrence for 84 days post-baseline.
Results: Analyses tested if baseline sleep quality and perceived stress were related to proportion of days where participants experienced migraine or headache. There was a statistically significant relationship between baseline sleep quality and migraine occurrence. Participants reporting worse sleep quality reported more migraine occurrence. Conversely, the relationship between baseline perceived stress and migraine occurrence was not significant.
Conclusions: Findings highlight the important relationship between sleep and migraine occurrence and raise questions about the relationship between stress and migraine. Further investigation of the intricate, longitudinal relationship between these two variables and migraine may enhance prevention and intervention.
