Objective:

To evaluate the associations between symptoms of restless leg syndrome (RLS), and insomnia, daytime hypersomnia (DH), rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), and nightmare disorder (ND) in people with Parkinson Disease (PD). The association between sleep disorders in PD and anxiety was also evaluated.  

Background:

It is known that PD is associated with disorders of sleep, however, the comorbidity of these conditions and associated anxiety have not been explicitly evaluated in patients with PD. 

Design/Methods:

A case-control study was completed using questionnaire data from the Fox Insight Data Exploration Network. Two logistic regression models assessed the relationship between RLS, multiple other sleep disorders, and anxiety.  

Results:

Of the 6,015 individuals with PD, 46.4% reported symptoms of RLS, 33.6% reported symptoms of RBD, 35.1% reported symptoms of ND, 64.6% reported symptoms of insomnia, 20% reported symptoms of DH, and 39.2% reported symptoms of anxiety. Individuals who reported symptoms of insomnia (OR 2.19, 95% CI [1.93-2.43]), DH (OR 1.56, 95% CI [1.37-1.79]), RBD (OR 1.41, 95% CI [1.24-1.59], and ND (OR 1.25, 95% CI [1.10-1.42], were more likely to report symptoms of RLS. Individuals who reported symptoms of RLS (OR 1.60, 95% CI [1.43-1.78]), insomnia (OR 1.76, 95% CI [1.56-1.98]), DH (OR 1.56, 95% CI [1.36-1.78]), RBD (OR 1.15, 95% CI [1.01-1.30]), and ND (OR 1.32, 95% CI [1.17-1.50]), were more likely to report anxiety. 

Conclusions:

This study provides evidence to the comorbidity of RLS with insomnia, DH, RBD, and ND in PD along with demonstrating a possible association between sleep disorders and anxiety in PD.