Restless legs syndrome: study of prevalence among medical school faculty members

Abstract

-The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) and its correlations in a sample of Medical School faculty members. A transversal study was conducted at a Medical School in the south of Brazil included 78 faculty members. The subjects answered to a structured questionnaire specific to RLS diagnosis and the Epworth and the Stanford scales to measure daytime sleepiness. Severity of the disease was also evaluated. The variables were analyzed to statistical significance. RLS was diagnosed in 10.25% of the subjects evaluated and most were women (62.5%). The prevalence of daytime sleepiness was significantly greater among the subjects suffering from RLS (p=0.04). RLS subjects were significantly younger than the group without the syndrome (p=0.02). RLS had a considerable prevalence in the sample studied. Daytime sleepiness and young age showed an important correlation to this syndrome, as other potential factors were not confirmed.KEy WoRDS: restless leg syndrome, prevalence, idiopathic, daytime sleepness. síndrome das pernas inquietas: estudo de prevalência entre professores do curso de medicina Resumo -o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a prevalência da síndrome das pernas inquietas (SPI) e suas implicações clínicas em uma amostra envolvendo docentes de um curso de Medicina. Foi realizado um estudo transversal que envolveu 78 docentes do curso de Medicina de uma Universidade do Sul do Brasil. os indivíduos avaliados responderam um questionário com perguntas epidemiológicas e de diagnóstico para SPI, assim como escalas de sonolência de Epworth e Stanford. os portadores de SPI responderam questionário de gravidade. As variáveis foram analisadas quanto à significância estatística. obtivemos uma prevalência de indivíduos portadores de SPI de 10,25%, sendo 62,5% destes do sexo feminino. A existência de sonolência diurna excessiva foi significativamente maior em pacientes portadores da síndrome (p=0,04). os pacientes portadores de SPI possuíam idade significativamente inferior ao grupo não sindrômico (p=0,02). A SPI mostrou-se bastante prevalente em nossa amostra. A prevalência de sonolência diurna e menos idade mostrou importante relação com esta síndrome, enquanto outros fatores possivelmente relacionados não foram confirmados.PALAvRAS-ChAvE: síndrome das pernas inquietas, prevalência, idiopática, sonolência diurna.

Periodic limb movements during sleep and restless legs syndrome in patients with ASIA A spinal cord injury

“…However, it has not modified the prevalence of RLS and PLM in our control group which is in agreement with larger epidemiological studies [10], and despite the small differences regarding age of onset and sex. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that we have also applied for the first time the IRLS Rating Scale [5] in injured subjects that was adapted without 2 items about gait, which are inappropriate to ASIA A SCI patients.…”

Worldwide estimation of restless legs syndrome: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of prevalence in the general adult population

“…The country with the most eligible studies ( n = 12) was the USA. The smallest sample size was 78 (Haggstram et al, 2009) and the largest sample size was 88,673 (Gao et al, 2009). The mean (SD, range) age of participants was 51.16 (16.02, 15–109) years.…”

Prevalence of Restless Legs Syndrome among Medical Students of Karachi: An Experience from a Developing Country

“…Various meta-analysis has been stating the causes of restless legs syndrome and showed iron deficiency, uremia, diabetes, and certain drugs play a role in increased incidence [23,24]. One of the strengths of this study is that diagnosis was made according to the criteria set by IRLSSG for diagnosing RLS.…”

“…As it also affects the sleep of students, thus, more extensive studies are required to be done about the etiologies behind these symptoms so that they can be addressed then. (13)(14)(15) 0 (0) 2 (100) Very severe (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) 0 (0) 0 (0)…”