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Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Daytime napping, nighttime sleeping, and Parkinson disease
Jianjun Gao1, Xuemei Huang, Yikyung Park
1Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
American Journal of Epidemiology
|March 16, 2011
Summary
Daytime sleepiness, indicated by longer naps, is linked to increased Parkinson disease risk across all diagnostic stages. This suggests sleepiness is an early nonmotor symptom, unlike nighttime sleep duration.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Sleep Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Preliminary research indicates excessive daytime sleepiness may precede Parkinson disease diagnosis.
- Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and nonmotor symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between daytime napping and nighttime sleeping patterns and Parkinson disease diagnosis at various clinical stages.
- To determine if sleep disturbances are early nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson disease.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of sleep data (daytime napping, nighttime sleeping) from 220,934 participants in the US NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
- Multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios and confidence intervals for Parkinson disease diagnoses.
- Participants were categorized into established, recent, and prediagnostic Parkinson disease groups.
Main Results:
- Longer daytime napping (>1 hour/day) showed a significant association with higher odds of Parkinson disease across all stages (ORs ranging from 1.5 to 3.9).
- The association between napping and Parkinson disease remained significant for prediagnostic and recent cases even after controlling for health status or nighttime sleep.
- Nighttime sleeping duration showed a U-shaped association for established cases, but this attenuated and disappeared for recent and prediagnostic cases.
Conclusions:
- Daytime sleepiness, manifested as increased napping, is a potential early nonmotor symptom of Parkinson disease.
- Nighttime sleep duration does not appear to be a reliable early indicator for Parkinson disease.
- Findings support the hypothesis that sleep disturbances are prodromal symptoms in Parkinson disease.
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