Screening Luxembourg's older general population for probable REM sleep behaviour disorder with a nationwide online survey

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.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2026-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-67511-z
Primary Topic
Sleep and related disorders
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Screening Luxembourg's older general population for probable REM sleep behaviour disorder with a nationwide online survey

Tainá M. Marques, Wim Ammerlann, Ibrahim Boussaad, Kathrin Brockmann et al.
Scientific Reports
Sleep and related disorders
article

Screening Luxembourg's older general population for probable REM sleep behaviour disorder with a nationwide online survey

Tainá M. Marques, Wim Ammerlann, Ibrahim Boussaad, Kathrin Brockmann, Geeta Acharya, Myriam Alexandre, Myriam Menster, Maura Minelli, Chouaib Mediouni, G. Berchem, Clarissa P. C. Gomes, Inga Liepelt, Anne-Marie Hanff, Victoria Lorentz, Jacek Jaroslaw Lebioda, Lukas Pavelka, Rajesh Rawal, Anna Schritz, Sascha Herzinger, Robert Liszka, Ulf Nehrbass, Jean-Yves Ferrand, Camille Bellora, Magali Perquin, Katy Beaumont, Jérôme Graas, Manon Gantenbein, Jessica Calmes, Quentin Klopfenstein, Gessica Contesotto, Paula Cristina Lupu, Michele Bassis, Nadine Jacoby, Lorieza Castillo, Laura Longhino, Roseline Lentz, Mariella Graziano, Martine Goergen, Patrick May, M. Mittelbronn, Enrico Glaab, Valentin Grouès, Alexander Hundt, Romain Nati, Françoise Meisch, Rudi Balling, Jochen Klucken, Nancy E. Ramia, Gaël Hammot, Claire Pauly, Kirsten Roomp, Pauline Lambert, Anne Grünewald, Estelle Henry, Brit Mollenhauer, Regina Becker, Olena Tsurkalenko, Yohan Jarosz, Gloria Aguayo, Soumyabrata Ghosh, Marijus Giraitis, Daniela Esteves, Eduardo Rosales Jubal, Clare Mackay, Rejko Krüger, Michel Vaillant, Deborah Mcintyre, Venkata Satagopam, Nancy De Bremaeker, Alexandre Bisdorff, Guilherme Marques, Nico Diederich, David Bouvier, Michael Heneka, Katrin Marcus, Patricia Martins Conde, Michael Heymann, Friedrich Mühlschlegel, Linda Hansen, Katrin Frauenknecht, Daniela Berg, Wei Gu, Gloria Aguayo, Gilles Van Cutsem, Giuseppe Arena, Sylvia Herbrink, Walter Maetzler, Zied Landoulsi, Thomas Gasser, Rene Dondelinger, Roxane Batutu, Muhammad Ali, Sonja Jónsdóttir, Michele Hu, Piotr Gawron, Elisa Gómez de Lope
article en

Abstract

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.

Scientific Reports
Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (LU), University of Luxembourg (LU), Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL), Maastricht University (NL), University of Oxford (GB), Westpfalz Klinikum (DE), Luxembourg Institute of Health (LU), Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (GB), Paracelsus Elena Klinik Kassel (DE), Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (DE), Laboratoire National de Santé (LU), Arbed (Luxembourg) (LU), Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Sleep and related disorders
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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