Effects of smartphone overuse on headache, sleep and quality of life in migraine patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of smartphone overuse on headache, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness and quality of life in migraine patients. METHODS: This study is a single-center, cross sectional comparative study. This study was conducted between July and September 2017 in the Neurology Clinic of a private hospital. Migraine disability assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire was used to evaluate the disability status, and Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS) was used to evaluate smartphone use frequency. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), 24-h Migraine Quality of Life Questionnaire (24-h MQoLQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were used to evaluate the pain intensity, quality of life, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, respectively. RESULTS: The study included a total of 123 patients. There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of pain intensity, frequency and duration as well as VAS, PSQI, 24-h MQoLQ and ESS (p less than 0.05) scores. There was a negative correlation between MPPUS and PSQI (r=-0.367, p less than 0.05); a strong positive correlation between MPPUS and ESS (r=0.675, p less than 0.05) and a negative correlation between MPPUS and 24-h MQoLQ (r=-0.508, p less than 0.05). CONCLUSION: Smartphone use has been observed to increase headache duration and frequency in migraine patients. Its overuse in migraine patients is related to poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness; furthermore, as the smartphone use increases, sleep quality decreases, daytime sleepiness increases and quality of life decreases.