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A single-question screen for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: a multicenter validation study
Postuma RB, Arnulf I, Hogl B, Iranzo A, Miyamoto T, Dauvilliers Y, Oertel W, Ju YE et al.. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 2012-05-30
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia that is an important risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) and Lewy body dementia. Its prevalence is unknown. One barrier to determining prevalence is that current screening tools are too long for large-scale epidemiologic surveys. Therefore, we designed the REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Single-Question Screen (RBD1Q), a screening question for dream enactment with a simple yes/no response. Methods Four hundred and eighty-four sleep-clinic-based participants (242 idiopathic RBD patients and 242 controls) completed the screen during a multicenter case-control study. All participants underwent a polysomnogram to define gold-standard diagnosis according to standard criteria. Results We found a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 87.2%. Sensitivity and specificity were similar in healthy volunteers, compared to controls or patients with other sleep diagnoses. Conclusions A single-question screen for RBD may reliably detect disease, with psychometric properties favorably comparable to those reported for longer questionnaires.
Key findings
- Results We found a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 87.2%.
- Sensitivity and specificity were similar in healthy volunteers, compared to controls or patients with other sleep diagnoses.
Why it matters
This study validated a single yes/no question for screening for REM sleep behavior disorder, a risk factor for Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, with 93.8% sensitivity and 87.2% specificity. It is a screening tool for a risk factor and does not treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Effect size93.8%; 87.2%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Movement Disorders: journal h-index 281 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 459 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 28.7 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 134 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jacques Yves Montplaisir: h-index 117 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 23 institution(s) in 9 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22729987) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Postuma, R. B., Arnulf, I., Hogl, B., Iranzo, A., Miyamoto, T., Dauvilliers, Y., et al. (2012). A single-question screen for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: a multicenter validation study. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.25037
Vancouver
Postuma RB, Arnulf I, Hogl B, Iranzo A, Miyamoto T, Dauvilliers Y, et al. A single-question screen for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: a multicenter validation study. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 2012. doi:10.1002/mds.25037. PMID: 22729987.
BibTeX
@article{postuma2012-22729987,
author = {Postuma, R. B. and Arnulf, I. and Hogl, B. and Iranzo, A. and Miyamoto, T. and Dauvilliers, Y. and Oertel, W. and Ju, Y. E. and others},
title = {{A single-question screen for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: a multicenter validation study}},
journal = {Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1002/mds.25037},
pmid = {22729987},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.25037}
}
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