Screening Luxembourg's older general population for probable REM sleep behaviour disorder with a nationwide online survey
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) is a hallmark of the prodromal phase of α-synucleinopathies. We aimed to describe the prevalence of probable RBD and to assess its associations with demographics, cognition, and location in a large sample of older adults in Luxembourg, as a first step toward identifying individuals with RBD symptoms for future prodromal-marker assessment. In 2021, residents of Luxembourg aged 55–75 were invited to complete an online survey including the RBD Screening Questionnaire (RBDSQ); with a threshold of ≥ 7 defining screen-positive probable RBD (sppRBD). Screen-positive participants underwent a telephone interview, and those confirmed were categorised as telephone-assessed probable RBD (pRBD). Bayesian spatial mapping assessed the geographical distribution of pRBD, and logistic regression identified determinants of sppRBD and pRBD. Among 15,915 participants (54% male; median age 62 [IQR 58–67]), 12.4% had sppRBD. The telephone interview confirmed only 34.8% of these as pRBD, yielding a projected prevalence of 4.3%. Self-reported cognitive impairment, male sex, and Portuguese as questionnaire language were associated with pRBD, which showed heterogeneous geographical distribution. Online questionnaires may yield false positives, potentially reflecting e-health literacy issues; therefore, a confirmation step is essential. This analysis identifies individuals with RBD symptoms warranting further prodromal-marker assessment, a candidate group for, rather than a validated instance of, an at-risk-for-α-synucleinopathy cohort.
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: Gloria A. Aguayo, Eduardo Rosales Jubal, Gilles Van Cutsem, Anna Schritz, Olena Tsurkalenko, Tainá M. Marques, Deborah McIntyre, Clarissa P. C. Gomes, Rajesh Rawal, Soumyabrata Ghosh, Kirsten Roomp, Claire Pauly, Magali Perquin, Lukas Pavelka, Venkata Satagopam, Michel Vaillant, Rejko Krüger, Geeta Acharya, Gloria Aguayo, Myriam Alexandre, Muhammad Ali, Wim Ammerlann, Giuseppe Arena, Rudi Balling, Michele Bassis, Roxane Batutu, Katy Beaumont, Regina Becker, Camille Bellora, Guy Berchem, Daniela Berg, Alexandre Bisdorff, Ibrahim Boussaad, David Bouvier, Kathrin Brockmann, Jessica Calmes, Lorieza Castillo, Gessica Contesotto, Nancy De Bremaeker, Nico Diederich, Rene Dondelinger, Nancy E. Ramia, Daniela Esteves, Jean-Yves Ferrand, Katrin Frauenknecht, Manon Gantenbein, Thomas Gasser, Piotr Gawron, Soumyabrata Ghosh, Marijus Giraitis, Enrico Glaab, Martine Goergen, Elisa Gómez de Lope, Jérôme Graas, Mariella Graziano, Valentin Groues, Anne Grünewald, Wei Gu, Gaël Hammot, Anne-Marie Hanff, Linda Hansen, Michael Heneka, Estelle Henry, Sylvia Herbrink, Sascha Herzinger, Michael Heymann, Michele Hu, Alexander Hundt, Nadine Jacoby, Jacek Jaroslaw Lebioda, Yohan Jarosz, Sonja Jónsdóttir, Quentin Klopfenstein, Jochen Klucken, Rejko Krüger, Pauline Lambert, Zied Landoulsi, Roseline Lentz, Inga Liepelt, Robert Liszka, Laura Longhino, Victoria Lorentz, Paula Cristina Lupu, Tainá M. Marques, Clare Mackay, Walter Maetzler, Katrin Marcus, Guilherme Marques, Patricia Martins Conde, Patrick May, Deborah Mcintyre, Chouaib Mediouni, Francoise Meisch, Myriam Menster, Maura Minelli, Michel Mittelbronn, Brit Mollenhauer, Friedrich Mühlschlegel, Romain Nati, Ulf Nehrbass, Sarah Nickels, Beatrice Nicolai, Jean-Paul Nicolay, Fozia Noor, Marek Ostaszewski, Clarissa P. C. Gomes, Sinthuja Pachchek, Claire Pauly, Laure Pauly, Lukas Pavelka, Magali Perquin, Rosalina Ramos Lima, Armin Rauschenberger, Rajesh Rawal, Dheeraj Reddy Bobbili, Kirsten Roomp, Eduardo Rosales, Isabel Rosety, Estelle Sandt, Stefano Sapienza, Venkata Satagopam, Margaux Schmitt, Sabine Schmitz, Reinhard Schneider, Jens Schwamborn, Raquel Severino, Amir Sharify, Ekaterina Soboleva, Kate Sokolowska, Hermann Thien, Elodie Thiry, Rebecca Ting Jiin Loo, Christophe Trefois, Johanna Trouet, Olena Tsurkalenko, Michel Vaillant, Mesele Valenti, Gilles Van Cutsem, Carlos Vega, Liliana Vilas Boas, Maharshi Vyas, Richard Wade-Martins, Paul Wilmes, Evi Wollscheid-Lengeling, Gelani Zelimkhanov
Institutions: Luxembourg Institute of Health, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Laboratoire National de Santé, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht University, Care and Public Health Research Institute, University of Oxford, Westpfalz Klinikum, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Ruhr University Bochum, Paracelsus Elena Klinik Kassel
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Awards: G1857736102, G7659217217
OpenAlex ID: W7204754468