How common is REM sleep behavior disorder?What is the underlying biological basis for REM sleep behavior disorder? Rapid Eye Movement sleep behavior disorder or RBD is a serious medical condition involving dream enactment behavior and loss of muscle atonia. It is far from uncommon and recent studies have demonstrated a greater prevalence in the human population than previously thought. This article explores RBD, including its prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment.
When we first think about a sleep behavioral disorder, our first thought may be to imagine the affected person sleepwalking or experiencing night terrors, but this does not describe RBD at all. These commonly known sleep behaviors are associated with non-REM parasomnias. It is thus important to distinguish RBD from other similar conditions such as these, including the non-REM parasomnias, but also periodic limb movement disorder, severe obstructive sleep apnea, and dissociate disorders.
How common is REM sleep behavior disorder? So how common is RBD, and who is affected by it? REM sleep behavior disorder has previously been relatively rare, with 0.5–2% of the population affected. More recently, larger-scale population-based studies have instead revealed the frequency of symptoms is greater than imagined, with a prevalence of around 5–13%. Although men and women are generally equally affected, the condition is known to be more common in older men.
PSG is a type of complex sleep study used to record brain waves. PSG is non-invasive and involves monitoring oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing during sleep, and eye and leg movements. This technique detects REM sleep without atonia , a vital diagnostic feature that constitutes the electrophysiological hallmark of RBD.