Restless legs syndrome and related factors in people with multiple sclerosis in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Objective

Restless legs syndrome is one of the most reported sleep disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS). The study aims to investigate the possible factors related to the occurrence and severity of restless legs syndrome in persons with MS (pwMS) comparing with healthy controls.

Methods

This is a case-control study that included 447 pwMS and 57 healthy controls. Demographic and clinical data such as gender, age, duration of education, body mass index, marital status, disease duration, and MS type were recorded. Neurological disability was assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale. The Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale was used to assess the severity of restless legs syndrome.

Results

The prevalence of restless legs syndrome in pwMS was 133 (29.8%) and 3 (4.9%) in healthy controls (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of gender, body mass index, and MS type (p > 0.05). Patients with restless legs syndrome have more advanced age, longer disease duration, and higher Expanded Disability Status Scale scores than patients without restless legs syndrome (p < 0.05). The correlation between restless legs syndrome severity and age, Expanded Disability Status Scale score, disease duration was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

This study has shown that the presence of restless legs syndrome is high in persons with MS compared to healthy controls. Advanced age, disease duration, and higher disability level could be related to the increased rate of restless legs syndrome in persons with MS, especially those with high-frequency symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• Multiple sclerosis
• restless legs syndrome
• sleep disorders
• Turkey
• prevalence

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Multiple Sclerosis Research Association for assistance during the recruitment of the study.

Disclosure statement

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.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon request.

Authors’ contributions

The study conception and methodology designed by Asiye Tuba Özdoğar, Turhan Kahraman, Özge Ertekin, Cavid Baba and Serkan Özakbaş. All authors contributed to the material preparation, data collection. The formal analysis was performed by Asiye Tuba Özdoğar and Turhan Kahraman. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Asiye Tuba Özdoğar and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Asiye Tuba Ozdogar

Asiye Tuba Ozdogar received the MSc degree in Graduate School of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey in 2017. Her research interests include Multiple Sclerosis. She works as Research Assistant in School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey.

Ozge Ertekin

Ozge Ertekin has been working as an Associate Professor since 2014 in School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey.

Turhan Kahraman

Turhan Kahraman received his Ph.D. degree in Graduate School of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. He works as Professor (Associate) in Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey.

Cavid Baba

Cavid Baba graduated from Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey

Serkan Ozakbas

Serkan Ozakbas graduated from Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. He, as professor, works in Dokuz Eylül University, Department of Neurology. His research interests are based on neurodegenerative diseases.