Prevalence and Impact of Probable REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in Essential Tremor: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Sleep Medicine
• Movement Disorders

Background:

• Essential tremor (ET) is a common movement disorder.
• Co-occurrence of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in ET is increasingly recognized.
• Understanding pRBD in ET is crucial for comprehensive patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of probable REM sleep behavior disorder (pRBD) in essential tremor (ET).
• To identify risk factors associated with pRBD in ET patients.
• To evaluate the impact of pRBD on motor and non-motor symptoms in ET.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter study involving 1297 ET patients.
• pRBD assessment using the RBD Questionnaire-Hong Kong (RBDQ-HK).
• Multivariable logistic regression for risk factor identification and a meta-analysis for pooled prevalence estimates.

Main Results:

• pRBD was present in 11.6% of ET patients; meta-analysis showed pooled prevalence of 16% for pRBD and 14% for RBD.
• ET patients with pRBD were older, had later tremor onset, and higher rates of midline and rest tremor.
• Higher Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS) scores and lower educational attainment were independent risk factors for pRBD.

Conclusions:

• Probable REM sleep behavior disorder is prevalent in essential tremor.
• pRBD in ET is linked to increased non-motor symptom burden and lower education.
• Identifying pRBD may help characterize a distinct subgroup of ET patients.