Scientific Investigations
Incidence of Restless Legs Syndrome and Its Correlates
http://dx.doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.1756
Pooja Budhiraja, M.D1,2; Rohit Budhiraja, M.D1,2; James L. Goodwin, Ph.D2; Richard P. Allen, Ph.D.3; Anne B. Newman, M.D.4; Brian B. Koo, M.D.5; Stuart F. Quan, M.D.2,6
1Department of Medicine, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Tucson, AZ; 2Department of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ; 3Division of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; 4Division of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; 5Division of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH; 6Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Background:
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sensorimotor disorder whose incidence is not known. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence and correlates of RLS in a population-based sample.
Methods:
We obtained data from the Tucson Cohort of the Sleep Heart Health Study, a prospective multicenter study. This cohort included 535 participants aged ≥ 40 years, who answered questions regarding RLS on the 2002 and 2006 sleep surveys. For this study, RLS was defined as the presence of all 4 International RLS Study Group criteria, with symptoms occurring ≥ 5 days/month and associated with at least moderate distress.
Results:
Mean age of the predominantly Caucasian (90.8%) participants on the 2002 survey was 59.8 ± 9.7 years; 52.2% were women. RLS prevalence was 4.1% in 2002 and 7.7% in 2006. The yearly incidence of RLS was 1.7% (6.6% over 4 years). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that estrogen use (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.17-5.10) and self-reported obstructive lung disease (OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.37-5.83) were independent risk factors predicting incident RLS. Incident RLS was associated with higher prevalence of insomnia (26.5% vs. 7.6%, p = 0.001), increased sleepiness (38.2% vs. 22%, p = 0.036); and higher sleeping pill use in 2006 (23.5% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.019).
Conclusion:
The incidence of RLS in this population sample was 1.7% per year. Use of estrogen and history of obstructive lung disease were associated with a significantly higher incidence of RLS. RLS, in turn, was associated with insomnia and increased sleepiness.
Citation:
Budhiraja P; Budhiraja R; Goodwin JL; Allen RP; Newman AB; Koo BB; Quan SF. Incidence of restless legs syndrome and its correlates. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(2):119-124.
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