MedWire News: Children who suffer from migraine headaches face an increased risk of a sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnoea, researchers have found.

Sleep apnoea is a condition in which the airways become obstructed during sleep. This causes sufferers to wake repeatedly during the night because their breathing patterns are constantly interrupted.

Dr Martina Vendrame, from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and team studied 60 children with migraine headaches, 11 with chronic daily headaches, six with tension headaches and 13 with 'non-specific' headaches.

All the participants underwent polysomnogram tests, which measure brain activity, eye movement, muscle activity, heart rhythm and breathing during sleep.

Analysis of the polysomnogram results revealed that 56% of the children with migraines also suffered from sleep apnoea, compared with 30% of those with other types of headache.

The researchers also found that children with migraines took longer to fall asleep, had shorter total sleep duration and experienced less rapid eye movement sleep - the deep stage of sleep when dreaming occurs - than children with other types of headache.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Dr Vendrame said: "Sleeping problems can exacerbate the problems migraine causes on a child's health and may hinder a child's performance at school."

She concluded: "Parents and doctors need to be aware of the strong likelihood of sleep disorders in children with migraine and seek appropriate preventions and treatments."