Migraine headache is the most common neurological complaint in adolescents 1 . It causes a significant number of missed school days 2 and is associated with several comorbidities, such as sleep disorders, anxiety and depression 3 .Sleep terrors (STs) are considered a parasomnia that are characterized by a sudden arousal from slow-wave sleep with a piercing scream or cry accompanied by autonomic and behavioral manifestations of intense fear 4 . The prevalence is approximately 3% in children and less than 1% in adults 4,5 .Typically, STs are observed in children between the ages of 4 and 12 years and, as in sleepwalking, tend to resolve spontaneously during adolescence 4 . On average, this disorder lasts 3.9 years, but it has a tendency to continue for a longer time period in children with a family history of STs 6 .The correlation between parasomnias and migraines has been described in previous studies, and a common pathophysiologic mechanism that involves the serotonergic system has been suggested 7-9 .
ABSTRACTMigraines and sleep terrors (STs) are highly prevalent disorders with striking similarities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the antecedent of STs by comparing adolescents suffering from migraines with healthy controls in a large consecutive series. Methods: All patients were subjected to a detailed headache questionnaire and were instructed to keep a headache diary during a two-month period. The age range was 10 to 19 years. The diagnosis of STs was defined according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Results: A total of 158 participants were evaluated. Of these participants, 50 suffered from episodic migraines (EMs), 57 had chronic migraines (CMs) and 51 were control subjects (CG). Participants who had a history of STs had significantly more migraines than participants who did not. Conclusions: Migraine is strongly associated with a history of STs in the adolescent population independent of demographics and pain intensity.Key words: night terrors, migraine disorders, headache, adolescent, sleep disorders. Palavras-Chave: terrores noturnos, transtornos de enxaqueca, cefaleia, adolescentes, transtornos do sono.
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