Short sleep duration heralds essential tremor: a prospective, population-based study
Julián Benito-León1, Elan D Louis, Félix Bermejo-Pareja
1Department of Neurology, University Hospital "12 de Octubre", Madrid, Spain; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Madrid, Spain.
Summary
Short daily sleep duration is linked to a higher risk of developing essential tremor (ET). This finding suggests that reduced sleep may be an early indicator for ET, warranting further research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Epidemiology
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Lewy bodies in the locus coeruleus, a nucleus crucial for sleep regulation, have been observed in some essential tremor (ET) patients.
- The relationship between daily sleep duration and ET risk has not been previously investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if baseline daily sleep duration is associated with an increased risk of incident essential tremor (ET).
Main Methods:
- A prospective, population-based study (Neurological Disorders in Central Spain [NEDICES] cohort) of individuals over 65 years old.
- Participants reported daily sleep duration (nighttime sleep + daytime napping) at baseline and were followed for incident ET over approximately 3.3 years.
- Sleep duration was categorized into: ≤5 hours (short sleepers), 6 hours, 7–8 hours (reference), and ≥9 hours (long sleepers).
Main Results:
- Short sleepers (≤5 hours) showed a significantly increased risk of incident ET (adjusted relative risk: 1.95; 95% CI, 1.03–3.70; P=0.04).
- Long sleepers (≥9 hours) did not show a significant association with ET risk (relative risk: 0.74; 95% CI, 0.41–1.32; P=0.31).
- The initial relative risk for short sleepers was 2.25 (95% CI, 1.21–4.16; P=0.01) before adjustment for confounders.
Conclusions:
- Short daily sleep duration may serve as a pre-motor marker for essential tremor (ET).
- Further prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.
- The underlying biological mechanisms linking short sleep duration and ET require additional investigation.
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