ObjectiveTo systematically examine the association between alcohol intake and likelihood of having probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (pRBD) 6 years later.MethodsThe study included 11,905 participants (mean age: 47.7 years) of the Kailuan Study, free of stroke, cancer, Parkinson disease, dementia, and head injury in 2006. We determined pRBD using a validated RBD questionnaire–Hong Kong in 2012. Amounts and types of alcohol intake were collected with questionnaire. Participants were categorized into: nondrinkers, light (women: 0–0.4 servings/day; men: 0–0.9 servings/day), moderate (women: 0.5–1.0 servings/day; men: 1–2 servings/day), and heavy drinkers(women: >1 serving/day; men: >2 servings/day). To examine the alcohol‐pRBD relationship, we used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for demographic characteristics, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, physical activity, body mass index, and plasma concentrations of lipids and urate.ResultsCompared with nondrinkers, current drinkers had a 23% higher likelihood of having pRBD (adjusted OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07–1.59). Both moderate (adjusted OR: 1.53, 95% CI 1.01–2.30) and heavy drinkers (adjusted OR: 1.29, 95% CI 1.00–1.66), but not light drinkers (adjusted OR: 1.16, 95% CI 0.94–1.44), had a significantly higher likelihood of having pRBD, relative to nondrinkers. There was a nonsignificant trend between consumption of each individual alcoholic beverages (i.e., beer, wine, or hard liquor) and higher likelihood of having pRBD (adjusted ORs ranged from 1.11 to 1.49).ConclusionsAlcohol consumption was associated with a higher likelihood of having pRBD. Future prospective studies with clinically confirmed RBD, large sample size for information on types of alcoholic beverage are warranted.