Depressive symptoms increase during follow-up and are associated with phenoconversion in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder
Abstract
Depressive symptoms are common in synucleinopathies, emerging during prodromal stages such as isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), yet their association with phenoconversion remains unclear. Among 167 patients with iRBD from the FranceRBD cohort with at least two yearly Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) assessments, we examined the clinical correlates and longitudinal trajectory of depressive symptoms and their association with phenoconversion using linear regression and joint models for longitudinal and survival data. At first assessment, 13% of patients had depressive symptoms (HADS-D > 7), which were associated with apathy, daytime sleepiness, and abnormal visual perception. HADS-D scores progressively increased over time, with a later increase than that observed for apathy. Each additional point in HADS-D score was associated with a 27% higher hazard of phenoconversion (HR 1.27, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that depressive symptoms evolve dynamically across the prodromal phase of synucleinopathies and are associated with phenoconversion, supporting their longitudinal assessment in iRBD.
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BibTeX
@article{baltassis2026depressive,
title = {{Depressive symptoms increase during follow-up and are associated with phenoconversion in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder}},
author = {Sophie Baltassis and Alessia Pascazio and Marion Houot and Smaranda Leu-Semenescu and Laure Peter-Derex and Laurène Leclair-Visonneau and Valérie Cochen de Cock and Beatriz Abril and Lise Lanvin and Maria Livia Fantini and Isabelle Arnulf and Pauline Dodet},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-77324-9},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-77324-9},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Depressive symptoms increase during follow-up and are associated with phenoconversion in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder
AU - Sophie Baltassis
AU - Alessia Pascazio
AU - Marion Houot
AU - Smaranda Leu-Semenescu
AU - Laure Peter-Derex
AU - Laurène Leclair-Visonneau
AU - Valérie Cochen de Cock
AU - Beatriz Abril
AU - Lise Lanvin
AU - Maria Livia Fantini
AU - Isabelle Arnulf
AU - Pauline Dodet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-77324-9
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-77324-9
AB - Depressive symptoms are common in synucleinopathies, emerging during prodromal stages such as isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), yet their association with phenoconversion remains unclear. Among 167 patients with iRBD from the FranceRBD cohort with at least two yearly Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) assessments, we examined the clinical correlates and longitudinal trajectory of depressive symptoms and their association with phenoconversion using linear regression and joint models for longitudinal and survival data. At first assessment, 13% of patients had depressive symptoms (HADS-D > 7), which were associated with apathy, daytime sleepiness, and abnormal visual perception. HADS-D scores progressively increased over time, with a later increase than that observed for apathy. Each additional point in HADS-D score was associated with a 27% higher hazard of phenoconversion (HR 1.27, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that depressive symptoms evolve dynamically across the prodromal phase of synucleinopathies and are associated with phenoconversion, supporting their longitudinal assessment in iRBD.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -