Hefnawy Mahmoud T, Amer Basma E, Amer Samar A, Moghib Khaled, Khlidj Yehya, Elfakharany Bahaa, Mouffokes Adel, Alazzeh Zainab J, Soni Nishant P, Wael Muhannad, Elsayed Mohamed E
Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, EGY.
Medical Research Group of Egypt Branch, Negida Academy, Arlington, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Jan 30;16(1):e53212. doi: 10.7759/cureus.53212. eCollection 2024 Jan.
Sleep paralysis (SP) is a mixed state of consciousness and sleep, combining features of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with those of wakefulness. The exact cause of SP is unknown, and its prevalence varies among the studies. We aim to identify SP's global prevalence, the affected population's characteristics, and the SP's clinical picture. We searched three databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WoS)) using a unique search strategy to identify eligible studies. All observational studies identifying the prevalence or frequency of sleeping paralysis were included. No exclusions are made based on country, race, or questionnaire. The analysis was performed using the latest version of R software (R Core Team, Vienna, Austria). The analysis included 76 studies from 25 countries with 167,133 participants. The global prevalence of SP was 30% (95% CI (22%, 39%)). There were similar frequencies of isolated SP and SP (33%, 95% CI (26%, 42%), I2 = 97%, P <0.01; 31%, 95% CI (21%, 43%), I2 = 100%, P = 0, respectively). A subgroup analysis showed that the majority of those who experienced SP were psychiatric patients (35%, 95% CI (20%, 55%), I2 = 96%, P <0.01). The prevalence among non-psychiatric patients was among students (34%, 95% CI (23%, 47%), I2 = 100%, P = 0). Auditory and visual hallucinations were reported in 24.25% of patients. Around 4% had only visual hallucinations. Meta-regression showed no association between the frequency of SP and sex. Publication bias was detected among the included studies through visual inspection of funnel plot asymmetry. Our findings revealed that 30% of the population suffered from SP, especially psychiatric patients and students. The majority of SP cases lacked associated hallucinations, while a noteworthy proportion experienced combined visual and auditory hallucinations.
睡眠瘫痪症（SP）是一种意识与睡眠的混合状态，它兼具快速眼动（REM）睡眠和清醒状态的特征。SP的确切病因尚不清楚，其患病率在不同研究中有所差异。我们旨在确定SP的全球患病率、受影响人群的特征以及SP的临床表现。我们使用独特的检索策略在三个数据库（PubMed、Scopus和科学网（WoS））中进行检索，以识别符合条件的研究。纳入所有确定睡眠瘫痪患病率或频率的观察性研究。不基于国家、种族或问卷进行排除。使用最新版本的R软件（R核心团队，奥地利维也纳）进行分析。该分析纳入了来自25个国家的76项研究，共167133名参与者。SP的全球患病率为30%（95%置信区间（22%，39%））。孤立性SP和伴有幻觉的SP的发生率相似（分别为33%，95%置信区间（26%，42%），I2 = 97%，P <0.01；31%，95%置信区间（21%，43%），I2 = 100%，P = 0）。亚组分析表明，经历SP的人群中大多数是精神科患者（35%，95%置信区间（20%，55%），I2 = 96%，P <0.01）。非精神科患者中的患病率以学生为最高（34%，95%置信区间（23%，47%），I2 = 100%，P = 0）。24.25%的患者报告有听觉和视觉幻觉。约4%的患者仅有视觉幻觉。Meta回归显示SP的频率与性别之间无关联。通过漏斗图不对称性的视觉检查在纳入研究中检测到发表偏倚。我们的研究结果显示，30%的人群患有SP，尤其是精神科患者和学生。大多数SP病例没有相关幻觉，而有相当比例的患者经历了视觉和听觉幻觉的组合。
