Objective: To describe the preliminary screening profile for suspected REM sleep behavior disorders (RBD) and association with parkinsonian symptoms in the elderly in a population-based study in southern Brazil.

Background: RBD is a sleep disorder considered a predictor of neurodegenerative diseases, mainly Parkinson’s disease, which appears several years before motor symptoms manifestation. The Single-Question Screen for RBD Disorder (RBD1Q) is a reliable screening question for dream enactment widely used for screening of RBD in clinical studies. To date, few population-based studies of the epidemiology of Parkinson’s Disease from Brazil were conducted, despite being a region with a singular risk factor profile for neurodegenerative disorders.

Method: This cross-sectional study is part of a population-based prospective cohort study for the development of parkinsonism cases. The RBD1Q and Tanner’s questionnaire were used for screening of suspected RBD and parkinsonism, respectively in older people (≥ 60 years old) living in the city of Veranópolis-RS. Data were expressed as frequency, mean and standard deviation. To verify the relation of the presence of suspected RDB and parkinsonism symptoms the chi-square test was used. A significance of p < 0.05 was considered. Analyzes were performed using SSPS version 24.

Results: Until this moment, 1,289 elderly were screened and presented a mean age of 74.10±8.25 years, education of 7.20±5.01 years, and 61% (786) were women. At initial screening, 39.1% (504) were positively screened, with 14.4% (185) having a positive response for suspected RBD and 34.4% (444) for subtle Parkinsonism. There was a higher proportion of cases exhibiting symptoms for Parkinsonism (67.6%, n = 125; p < 0.001) in suspected RBD individuals. The most frequent responses of parkinsonism in suspected RBD individuals were in balance alteration (66.4%), and tiny steps/shuffle feet (66.4%). Freezing responses were less prevalent (23.2%).

Conclusion: The preliminary number of positive screenings for suspected RBD was not rare in this sample, also the number of Parkinsonism symptoms were commonly found in RBD responders. The clinical diagnosis for both RBD and Parkinsonism is still needed for confirmation in order to estimate the real prevalence in this Brazilian population-based study.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/screening-of-rem-sleep-behavior-disorder-and-the-relation-with-parkinsonism-symptoms-in-the-elderly-in-southern-brazil-a-preliminary-population-based-study/