The relationship between actigraphically defined sleep disturbance and REM sleep behaviour disorder in Parkinson's Disease

Aim: In this study, we sought to evaluate the utility of actigraphy for examining symptoms of rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RSBD). Methods: Twenty-two patients with idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (mean age = 63.4 years, SD = 7.5) underwent neurological assessment and completed sleep diaries, self-report sleep questionnaires and 2-weeks of actigraphy. They also completed the rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder questionnaire and were classified as screening negative (RSBD-, n = 9) or positive (RSBD+, n = 13) for RSBD according to published criteria. Key outcome data were the number of wake bouts and duration of arousals during the sleep interval as determined by actigraphy. Results: Patients classified as RSBD+ demonstrated a higher number of wake bouts than those who were RSBD- (p = 0.011). Conclusions: These results suggest that actigraphy may be a viable tool to assist in the early identification of RSBD. In turn, this could guide early intervention approaches.