Editorial: REM sleep behavior disorder and obstructive sleep apnea: does one “evil” make the other less or more “evil”?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is commonly found in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), partially due to common risk factors shared by these two conditions (ie, age and male gender). Indeed, 34-60% of patients with RBD were reported to have an AHI > 10/hour.1,2 Recently, a few studies have tried to clarify the close relationship between OSA and RBD. In this issue, Bugalho et al. conducted a case-control study to further explore the reciprocal relationship between OSA and RBD. Albeit being hampered by a few limitations, such as small sample size, a lack of follow-up confirmation of potential pseudo-RBD induced by severe OSA, and a mixed group of idiopathic and symptomatic RBD (associated with Parkinson's disease), this study has taken a great step towards understanding the complex relationship between OSA and RBD.

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