Preliminary data indicate that hybrid cognitive‐behavioral therapy is feasible and acceptable for youth with co‐occurring chronic migraine and insomnia, according to a recent study. Researchers conducted a single‐arm pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering cognitive‐behavioral therapy for insomnia to 21 youth (mean age 15.5 years) with co‐occurring chronic migraine and insomnia. Adolescents completed up to 6 individual treatment sessions over 6 to 12 weeks, and 1 booster session 1 month later. Assessments included a prospective 7‐day headache and sleep diary, and self‐report measures of insomnia, sleep quality, sleep habits, and activity limitations at pre‐treatment, immediate post‐treatment, and 3‐month follow‐up. Researchers found:
- Adolescents demonstrated good treatment adherence and families rated the intervention as highly acceptable.
- Preliminary analyses indicated improvements from pre‐treatment to post‐treatment in primary outcomes of headache days (M=4.7, SD=2.1 vs M=2.8, SD=2.7) and insomnia symptoms (M=16.9, SD=5.2 vs M=9.5, SD=6.2), which were maintained at 3‐month follow‐up (M=2.7, SD=2.8; M=9.3, SD=5.0, respectively).
- Improvements were also found in secondary outcomes of pain‐related activity limitations as well as sleep quality, sleep hygiene, and sleep patterns.
Law EF, Tham SW, Aaron RV, Dudeney J, Palermo TM. Hybrid cognitive‐behavioral therapy intervention for adolescents with co‐occurring migraine and insomnia: A single‐arm pilot trial. [Published online ahead of print August 27, 2018]. Headache. doi:10.1111/head.13355.