A dimensional approach to hypersomnolence disorder without comorbidity: results from a French preliminary study and data visualization

1. Neurophysiol Clin. 2026 Apr 29;56(3):103167. doi:
10.1016/j.neucli.2026.103167. Online ahead of print.

A dimensional approach to hypersomnolence disorder without comorbidity: results
from a French preliminary study and data visualization.

Martin VP(1), Beaumard C(2), Coelho J(3), Lopez R(4), Lambert I(5), McGonigal
A(6), Peter-Derex L(7), Massiah B(3), Philip P(3), Micoulaud-Franchi JA(8).

Author information:
(1)Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Inria, LORIA F-54000 Nancy, France. Electronic
address: .
(2)Univ. Bordeaux, LaBRI, CNRS UMR 5800, Bordeaux INP, Talence F-33405, France;
Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, Hôpital Pellegrin, Place Amélie Raba
Léon F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
(3)Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, Hôpital Pellegrin, Place Amélie Raba
Léon F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Service Universitaire de Médecine du Sommeil
(SUMS), CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba-Leon 33076 Bordeaux, France.
(4)Centre du Sommeil Pédiatrique, Clinique Saint Jean Sud de France, 1 Place de
l’Europe 34430 Saint-Jean-de-Védas, France.
(5)APHM, Timone Hospital, Sleep Unit, Epileptology and Cerebral Rhythmology,
Marseille, France; Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst,
Marseille, France.
(6)Mater Epilepsy Unit, Mater Hospital and Mater Research Institute, The
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Queensland Brain Institute, The
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
(7)Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en
Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PAM F-69500, Bron, France; Center for
Sleep Medicine, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Lyon 1 University, Lyon F-69000,
France.
(8)Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, Hôpital Pellegrin, Place Amélie Raba
Léon F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Service Universitaire de Médecine du Sommeil
(SUMS), CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba-Leon 33076 Bordeaux, France.
Electronic address: .

CONTEXT: The hypersomnolence disorder diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5-TR rely
on the report of a ‘hypersomnolence’ syndrome, without defining the term or
proposing any measuring tool to assess this. Among the vast diversity of tools
to measure hypersomnolence, the Hypersomnia Severity Index (HSI) has been
specifically designed to account for the multidimensionality of hypersomnolence.
Showing good psychometric validity in two previous validation studies, the HSI
has never been validated against the gold-standard Multiple Sleep Latency Test
(MSLT).
OBJECTIVE: This preliminary study aims to validate the French version of the HSI
and to provide a first exploration of the link between HSI and the MSLT in a
group of French subjects clinically diagnosed with hypersomnolence disorders. In
addition, we propose an original visualization of the dimensions of the HSI.
METHOD: This study is a secondary analysis of a cohort of 34 patients diagnosed
with hypersomnolence disorders without comorbidity. They underwent a MSLT and
filled out the French version HSI as well as classical sleep medicine
questionnaires. The HSI has undergone a rigorous translation and psychometric
validation, which we compare with two previous psychometric validation studies.
RESULTS: We obtained the same level of psychometric validity as previous
studies, validating our French version on a population of patients with
hypersomnolence disorder. However, we did not find any correlation between the
HSI and the MSLT. Nevertheless, the dimensional approach offered by the HSI
combined with our data visualization provide a valuable tool for sleep medicine
clinical practice and research.

Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2026.103167
PMID: 42061044

Conflict of interest statement: Conflicts of interest The authors declare that
they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that
could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus