Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35672736›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2022

Risk factors of sleep paralysis in a population of Polish students.

Paulina Wróbel-Knybel, Michał Flis, Joanna Rog, Baland Jalal, Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Association between sleep paralysis and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Nightmares or a crippling reality? A review on sleep paralysis.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Paulina Wróbel-KnybelI Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, Głuska 1 Street, 20-439, Lublin, Poland. paulinawrobelknybel@umlub.pl.
Michał FlisI Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, Głuska 1 Street, 20-439, Lublin, Poland.
Joanna RogI Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, Głuska 1 Street, 20-439, Lublin, Poland.
Baland JalalDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
Hanna Karakuła-JuchnowiczI Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, Głuska 1 Street, 20-439, Lublin, Poland.
Medical University of Lublin · PLHarvard University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSleep paralysis (SP) is a transitional dissociative state associated with the REM sleep phase that affects approximately 28.3% of the student population during their lifetime. The reasons for the high prevalence of SP in the student population are not entirely clear. Research indicates possible influencing factors such as the intensification of anxiety symptoms, a tendency to worry, the presence of PTSD symptoms, and behavioral factors such as the consumption of psychoactive substances (caffeine, alcohol, nicotine), sleep deprivations and poor sleep hygiene. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of SP and determine the risk factors for the occurrence of SP in the population of Polish students.

methodsThe study used a battery online consisting of a set of questionnaires 1) a personal questionnaire, 2) the SP-EPQ, 3) the PCL -5, 4) the STAI-T, 5) the PSWQ. The questionnaire was sent via Facebook to 4500 randomly selected students from different universities in Poland. The questionnaire was completed by 2598 students. To unify the participant sample, people over 35 were excluded from the study (45 students). Ultimately, data from 2553 students were analyzed.

resultsA total of 33.14% of individuals experienced at least one episode of SP in their lives. The highest odds ratio for SP was associated with: the presence of three or more health problems (OR: 2.3; p = 0.002), the presence of any mental disorder (OR: 1.77; p = 0.002), including mood disorders (OR: 2.07; p = 0.002), suffering from at least one somatic disease (OR: 1.34; p = 0.002), a high level of anxiety as a constant personality trait (OR: 1.20; p = 0.035) and smoking (OR: 1.48; p = 0.0002), alcohol consumption (OR: 1.52; p < 0.0001), physical activity (OR: 1.31; p = 0.001).

conclusionsThe results of our research indicate that a large proportion of students experienced isolated sleep paralysis. Mental and somatic health problems and lifestyle factors were found to predispose individuals to this disorder. Due to the numerous risk factors for SP, it is necessary to conduct additional research to confirm the impact of these factors and to investigate the mechanisms of their influence on SP.

Indexed as

Sleep ParalysisHumansPolandRisk FactorsStudentsSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversitiesAnxietyHealth statusMental disorderParasomniaPTSDSleepSleep disorderSleep paralysisSportWorry

Identifiers

PMID35672736
PMCPMC9171979
OpenAlexW4282007308

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.