Sleep apnea in patients with primary chronic headache

Abstract

Introduction. Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) can accompany patients with chronic primary headache (CPH), being a frequent cause of persistence of symptoms in these patients, however, the data studying this disorder in patients with CPH are still limited. Objective. To determine the frequency of SAS in patients with CPH. Methods. A retrospective cohort was analyzed in patients with a diagnosis of CPH in a third level hospital. CPH was diagnosed according to the criteria of the International Headache Society and SAS with a polysomnographic record with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) >5/h, the frequency of SAS was determined among the total number of patients with AHI >5/h over the total number of patients undergoing polysomnography. Results. A total of 114 subjects were included, where the SAS in CPH was 83.3%, of which 56.8% were men and 60% older than 50 years; 89% of the population had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 27 kg/m2. Fatigue and sleepiness during the day were the most frequent symptoms, reported in 89.5% of the population with SAS compared to 47.4% of the population without a diagnosis of SAS. Conclusion. Sleep apnea is a frequent condition in patients with CPH undergoing polysomnography, mainly overweight men over 50 years of age. The main associated symptoms are fatigue and sleepiness.

Keywords

• headache
• sleep apnea
• signs and symptoms
• polysomnography
• prevalence