OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical and polysomnographic features of @entity2724 in Saudis. METHODS: All @entity1 diagnosed to have @entity2724 in the @entity25 Center at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between March 1998 and December 2005 based on the International Classifications of @entity25 Diagnostic and Coding Manual criteria were included. A data entry form collecting the demographic, clinical features, medications, referring specialty, prior diagnoses and @entity25 was used. All @entity1 underwent polysomnography followed by multiple sleep latency. RESULTS: Forty-seven @entity1 with a mean age of 28.9 +/- 1.9 years were included. The mean age at onset of symptoms was 20.5 +/- 1.4 years. The interval between symptoms onset and diagnosis was 8.4 +/- 1.2 years. While 22 (46.8%) of the @entity1 were referred to the @entity25 clinic by different specialties, 25 (53.2%) @entity1 sought an appointment in the @entity25 clinic directly. Only 3 @entity1 were referred with the correct diagnosis. @entity25 was worse in narcoleptics with @entity2725 compared to those without @entity2725 . CONCLUSION: Saudi @entity1 with @entity2724 have the same clinical presentation as reported in the Western literature. Narcoleptics with @entity2725 had disturbed quality compared to narcoleptics without @entity2725 . A long time was reported between symptoms onset and diagnosis, which may reflect the under-recognition of the problem among physicians.

XXXX in Saudi Arabia. Demographic and clinical perspective of an under-recognized disorder.

@entity2724 :: ('MESH:D009290', 'Disease') :: ['narcolepsy'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity2725 :: ('MESH:D002385', 'Disease') :: ['cataplexy'] @entity25 :: ('MESH:D012893', 'Disease') :: ['Nocturnal sleep quality', 'sleep disorders', 'daytime sleepiness', 'Sleep Disorders']
@entity2724 :: (MESH:D009290,Disease) :: ['Narcolepsy']
