Polysomnographic findings of myotonic dystrophy type 1/type 2: evidence from case-control studies

Abstract

Study objectives: This study explores polysomnographic and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) differences between myotonic dystrophy type 1/type 2 (DM1/DM2) patients and controls.

Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, All EBM databases, and Web of Science from inception to Aug 2023.

Results: Meta-analyses revealed significant reductions in sleep efficiency, N2 percentage, mean SpO2, and MSLT measured mean sleep latency, and increases in N3 sleep, wake time after sleep onset, apnea hypopnea index, and periodic limb movement index in DM1 patients compared with controls. However, any differences of polysomnographic sleep change between DM2 patients and controls could not be established due to limited available studies.

Conclusions: Multiple significant polysomnographic abnormalities are present in DM1. More case-control studies evaluating polysomnographic changes in DM2 compared with controls are needed.

Keywords: multiple sleep latency test; myotonic dystrophy type 1; myotonic dystrophy type 2; polysomnography; sleep.