Objective: To evaluate clinical characteristics and objective sleep parameters in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) according to disease duration (<6 years versus >6 years).
Background: Sleep disturbances are among the most prevalent non-motor symptoms of PD, significantly affect quality of life (QOL) and may vary with disease progression. They are frequently under-reported and difficult to assess using subjective measures alone. Wearable circadian monitoring devices may allow for objective evaluation of sleep–wake cycles and circadian rhythms in the home environment.
Method: This observational descriptive study included 30 patients with PD. Exclusion criteria were cognitive impairment (MMSE<24) and treatment with second-line therapies. Participants underwent ambulatory circadian monitoring using a wearable device for four consecutive weekdays. Variables collected included demographic data, motor and non-motor scales (UPDRS III/IV, PD-CRS, BDI-II, NMSS), treatment including levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD); subjective sleep scales (PDSS, SCOPA-Sleep, ESS, RBDSQ) and QOL scales (PDQ-39). The device recorded wrist skin temperature, motor activity, and light exposure, allowing the calculation of multiple circadian and sleep parameters. Patients were stratified according to disease duration (<6 years vs. >6 years).
Results: Thirty patients with PD were included. Fourteen (46.67%) with longer disease duration (>6y) and16 (53.33%) with shorter disease duration (<6y), with a median age of 64.5 and 62.5 (p=0.45) respectively. Patients in the >6y group had a higher LEDD (median: 1008.8mg vs. 427.5mg; p<0.01) and greater motor complications measured by UPDRS IV (p<0.01).
Patients with >6y of disease showed significantly lower sleep efficiency (77,39% vs. 83,08%; p<0.05), shorter total sleep time (5.97h vs. 6.94h; p<0.05), and higher sleep fragmentation (75.26 vs. 56.94; p<0.05).
No significant differences were observed between groups in subjective sleep scales, non-motor symptoms, nor QOL scales.
Conclusion: Patients with longer disease duration showed significantly poorer objective sleep parameters, including reduced sleep efficiency and increased fragmentation, despite similar subjective sleep scores. This discrepancy highlights the value of ambulatory circadian monitoring devices as a tool to study markers of disease progression that remain undetected by standard questionnaires.
References: Iranzo, A. et al. (2024) ‘Sleep and sleep disorders in people with parkinson’s disease’, The Lancet Neurology, 23(9), pp. 925–937. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(24)00170-4.
Zhang, Y. et al. (2020) ‘Sleep in parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of polysomnographic findings’, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 51, p. 101281. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101281.
Zuzuárregui, J.R. and During, E.H. (2020) ‘Sleep issues in parkinson’s disease and their management’, Neurotherapeutics, 17(4), pp. 1480–1494. doi:10.1007/s13311-020-00938-y.
Madrid Navarro, C.J. (2018) ‘Ritmos circadianos y cronodisrupción en la enfermedad de Parkinson’, PhD thesis, Universidad de Murcia, available at: https://digitum.um.es/server/api/core/bitstreams/519890a7-8216-43e6-b855-76bf87deb560/content
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
L. Núñez Santos, MF. Valero García, B. Vives Pastor, M. Sastre Mesquida, A. Colomé Menoyo, S. Ferrández Sempere, E. Bargay Pizarro, C. Vallés Serrano, I. Legarda Ramírez. Evaluation of Sleep Parameters in Parkinson’s Disease According to Disease Duration Using Ambulatory Circadian Monitoring [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/evaluation-of-sleep-parameters-in-parkinsons-disease-according-to-disease-duration-using-ambulatory-circadian-monitoring/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/evaluation-of-sleep-parameters-in-parkinsons-disease-according-to-disease-duration-using-ambulatory-circadian-monitoring/