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Abstract Introduction Parasomnias are characterised by increased number of arousals. Periodic limb movements in sleep may fragment the sleep; therefore, may trigger parasomnias. However, the association is poorly understood. Methods As part of a retrospective service evaluation project, we investigated 131 patients who underwent a full night attended polysomnography due to reported history of parasomnias. Patients were divided into two groups, depending on their periodic limb movements in sleep index (PLMI≥15/h). Results Forty-three patients (32%) had PLMS. They more commonly complained about dream enactment (51 vs. 26%, p 0.01), abnormal movements (59 vs. 39%, p=0.04) and sleep paralysis (11 vs. 1%, p 0.01) and less likely experienced sleep walking (22 vs. 40%, p=0.04). There was no difference in sleep eating (8 vs. 10%), sexsomnia (0 vs. 2%), nightmares (24 vs. 21%), night terrors (8 vs. 21%), or confusional arousals (17 vs. 30%). Overall, they more likely had a diagnosis of REM parasomnia (71 vs. 50%, p=0.03) and were less likely diagnosed with non-REM parasomnia (45 vs. 70%, p 0.01). PLMI significantly related to arousal index (ρ=0.37, p 0.01) and arousal index from NREM (ρ=0.38, p 0.01); however interestingly, there was no relationship with arousal index from REM (ρ=0.13, p=0.13). Conclusion Periodic limb movements in sleep are common in patients with parasomnia and are associated with REM parasomnias. Further studies are necessary to investigate if treatment of PLMS could be beneficial in patients with REM parasomnias. Support (if any)
Aleem et al. (Sat,) studied this question.