Statistics
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Prevalence
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) affects up to one in ten of the adult population aged between 30 and 79 years1 with up to one–third of patients experiencing symptoms more than twice weekly causing moderate to severe distress2
- RLS prevalence has been shown to be higher in women than in men and increases with age2,3
- According to recent research, genetic factors may contribute to RLS (a positive family history for RLS is present in about 50 percent of RLS patients).4,5
Impact on quality of life (QoL)
- The quality of life effect of RLS on people with moderate to severe RLS symptoms was found to be comparable to that of hypertension, and other cardiovascular conditions, including congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction6
- When comparing, for example, with type–2 diabetes, RLS patients had lower scores (i.e. worse quality of life) on the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF–36) in the following domains when their quality of life was measured in relation to specific aspects of their overall health:6–8
- Bodily pain
- Physical functioning
- Vitality
- Social functioning
- Pain associated with RLS symptoms, such as leg pain, is highly frequent in RLS patients (approximately 60 percent).7
More information on the impact of RLS on Quality of Life
Impact on sleep quality
- RLS is one of the most common causes of sleep disturbance:9
- About 15 percent of people with RLS take two or more hours to fall asleep2
- Those with moderate to severe RLS may sleep less than five hours per night10
- About 60 percent wake up three or more times per night2
- About 80 percent experience periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS), which can disrupt sleep10
- Patients with moderate to severe RLS are known to have less sleep than patients with almost any other type of persistent sleep disorder.2
More information on the impact on sleep quality
Impact on daytime functioning
- RLS can lead to daytime sleepiness and compromise work⁄daytime performance:2
- Lack of energy: 60.8 percent
- Difficulty to sit still or relax: 60.1 percent
- Adverse effect on concentration: 49.7 percent
- Disturbed daily activities: 57.2 percent
- Tendency to feel depressed or low: 53.9 percent.
References
- Phillips B et al. Epidemiology of Restless Legs Symptoms in adults. Arch Intern Med 2000; 160(14): 2137–2141.
- Hening W et al. Impact, diagnosis and treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome in a primary care population: REST (RLS epidemiology, symptoms and treatment) primary care study. Sleep Med 2004; 5(3): 237–246.
- Schneider K et al. RLS prevalence in primary care. Presented at the 11th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) on 26 August 2007; P1855.
- Stefansson H et al. A genetic risk factor for periodic limb movements in sleep. NEJM 2007; 357(7): 639–647.
- Winkelmann J et al. Genome–wide association study of Restless Legs Syndrome identifies common variants in three genomic regions. Nature Genetics 2007; 39: 1000–1006.
- Abetz L et al. Evaluating the quality of life of patients with Restless Legs Syndrome. Clin Ther 2004; 26(6): 925–935.
- Allen RP et al. Restless Legs Syndrome prevalence and impact. Arch Int Medicine 2005; 165: 1286–1292.
- Kushida C et al. Burden of Restless Legs Syndrome on health–related quality of life. Qual Life Res 2007; 16(4): 617–624.
- Allen RP et al. Restless Legs Syndrome: a review of clinical and pathophysiologic features. J Clin Neurophysiol 2001; 18(2): 128–147.
- Allen RP et al. Restless Legs Syndrome: Diagnostic criteria, special considerations, and epidemiology – A report from the Restless Legs Syndrome diagnosis and epidemiology workshop at the National Institutes of Health. Sleep Med 2003; 4(2): 101–119.