LIFE EVENTS IN THE YEAR PRECEDING THE ONSET OF NARCOLEPSY

A multifactorial etiology for narcolepsy has been postulated, stressin g the importance of environmental factors in the clinical onset of the condition. Our study evaluated the occurrence of stressful life event s in the year preceding the onset of narcolepsy. Fifty narcoleptic and 50 control subjects completed a life event questionnaire (the Schedul e of Recent Experiences). The proportion of narcoleptic subjects repor ting the presence of life events in the year preceding the onset of na rcolepsy was significantly greater than the proportion of control subj ects reporting life events in the corresponding year. Moreover the wei ght of life events was increased in narcoleptic subjects in comparison with controls. In conclusion life events seem to be increased in narc oleptic subjects in the year preceding the onset of their condition. H owever a number of other factors could not be taken into consideration , which limits the full significance of these data.