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. 2024 Nov 26;103(10):e209993.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000209993. Epub 2024 Oct 25.

Phenoconversion in Women and Men With Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Christina A Alexandres  1 , Stuart J McCarter  1 , Grace M Tabatabai  1 , Laurene LeClair-Visonneau  1 , John C Feemster  1 , Thomas R Gossard  1 , Emma P Strainis  1 , Jack T Jagielski  1 , Makayla R Kelleher  1 , Thomas Finstuen  1 , Farwa Ali  1 , Hugo Botha  1 , Jonathan Graff-Radford  1 , Eric J Olson  1 , David J Sandness  1 , Timothy J Morgenthaler  1 , Kejal Kantarci  1 , Rodolfo Savica  1 , Wolfgang Singer  1 , Naima Covassin  1 , Virend K Somers  1 , James L Kirkland  1 , Mithri Junna  1 , Melissa Lipford  1 , Christine A Matarese  1 , James L Moore  1 , Maja Tippmann-Peikert  1 , Diego Z Carvalho  1 , Bradley F Boeve  1 , Michael H Silber  1 , Erik K St Louis  1
Affiliations

Phenoconversion in Women and Men With Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Christina A Alexandres et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Background and objectives: Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is strongly associated with synucleinopathies. Previous iRBD cohort studies have primarily focused on older (>50 years), male-predominant cohorts. Risk of phenoconversion in women and younger adults remains unclear. The study aimed to determine clinical features associated with conversion to a defined neurodegenerative disorder in women and men with iRBD.

Methods: One hundred eighty-six women and 186 men with iRBD were matched by polysomnography month. Baseline clinical variables and subsequent neurodegenerative outcomes were abstracted by chart review. Kaplan-Meier curves assessed conversion rates. Cox proportional hazards modeling evaluated factors associated with phenoconversion risk.

Results: Age at iRBD diagnosis was younger in women compared with men (54.9 vs 62.5 years, p < 0.01). Forty-eight patients (12.9%), including 18 women (9.7%) and 30 men (16.1%), phenoconverted during a median follow-up of 6.0 years. Conversion rates were lower in antidepressant users and patients with chronic pain or psychiatric comorbidity while rates were higher in those with vascular comorbidity. Only age at diagnosis (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.13) was associated with phenoconversion after adjusting for RBD symptom duration; sex; antidepressant use; and psychiatric, chronic pain, and vascular comorbidities.

Discussion: Age at diagnosis was independently associated with phenoconversion risk in women and men with iRBD.

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Conflict of interest statement

C. Alexandres, S.J. McCarter, G. Tabatabai, L. LeClair-Visonneau, J. Feemster, T. Gossard, E. Strainis, J. Jagielski, M. Kelleher, T. Finstuen, F. Ali, H. Botha, J. Graff Radford, E.J. Olson, D. Sandness, T.I. Morgenthaler, K. Kantarci, R. Savica, and W. Singer report no relevant disclosures. N. Covassin reports grant support from Sleep Number Corp. V.K. Somers reports being a consultant for Zoll, Jazz, Lilly, Huxley, ApniMed and ResMed and serving on the Sleep Number Corporation Scientific Advisory Board. Funding received from NIH and grants from Sleep Number to Mayo Clinic. J.L. Kirkland reports grant support from the NIH (R33AG61456 and R37AG13925), the Alzheimer's Association (PTC REG-20-651687), the Connor Fund, Robert J. and Theresa W. Ryan, and the Noaber Foundation. J.L. Kirkland, M. Junna, M. Lipford, C. Matarese, J.L. Moore, and M. Tippmann-Peikert report no relevant disclosures. D.Z. Carvalho reports grant support from the National Institute of Aging. B.F. Boeve and M.H. Silber report no relevant disclosures. E.K. St. Louis reports grant support from the NIH (National Institutes of Aging, Neurologic Disorders, and Heart Lung and Blood), and from Sleep Number, Inc. and Spark, Inc. Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures.

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