Change of International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale subscales with treatment and placebo: a pilot study

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics of the two groups

	NIR treatment mean (SD) n=41	Sham (control) mean (SD) n=17
Age (years)	56.9 (13.1)	55.5 (17.1)
Symptom duration (years)	15.9 (16.0)	12.7 (13.3)
IRLS baseline score	23.2 (5.5)	23.6 (6.9)
IRLS posttreatment score	11.6 (7.3)	19.2 (7.6)
IRLS posttreatment change	−11.6 (7.2) n (%)	−4.4 (3.6) n (%)
Female	24 (59)	8 (47)
Positive family history	24 (59)	12 (71)
On medication for RLS	24 (59)	9 (53)

Abbreviations: IRLS, International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale; NIR, near-infrared light; RLS, restless leg syndrome; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 IRLS averages per subgroup per question in groups treated with NIR

SS 1	Pre	Post	SS 2	Pre	Post
Q1	2.60	1.29	Q5	2.00	0.90
Q2	2.97	1.37	Q9	1.55	0.60
Q4	2.20	1.00	Q10	1.53	0.60
Q6	2.70	1.30
Q7	3.05	1.76
Q8	2.20	1.16
Average	2.62	1.31	Average	1.69	0.70
Paired t-test SS 1 pre/post			Paired t-test SS 2 pre/post
P<0.0001*			P=0.003*

Note:

* Significant change.

Abbreviations: IRLS, International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale; NIR, near-infrared light; Q, question; SS 1, symptom severity; SS 2, symptom impact.

Table 3 Average change in subscales

	Treatment with NIR	Sham/control	P-value for two group comparison
	Average (SD)	Average (SD)
SS 1	1.31 (0.19)	0.62 (0.26)	0.0004*
SS 2	0.99 (0.09)	0.53 (0.48)	0.178

Note:

* Significant change.

Abbreviations: NIR, near-infrared light; SD, standard deviation; SS 1, symptom severity; SS 2, symptom impact.

Table 4 IRLS averages per subgroup per question in sham treatment control group

SS 1	Pre	Post	SS 2	Pre	Post
Q1	3.00	2.20	Q5	2.07	1.00
Q2	2.90	2.40	Q9	1.80	1.40
Q4	2.00	1.70	Q10	1.80	1.67
Q6	2.80	2.10
Q7	3.00	2.00
Q8	2.40	2.00
Average	2.57	2.03	Average	1.89	1.36
Paired t-test SS 1 pre/post			Paired t-test pre/post
P=0.002*			P=0.196

Note:

* Significant change.

Abbreviations: IRLS, International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale; Q, question; SS 1, symptom severity; SS 2, symptom impact.

Figure S1 International restless legs syndrome questionnaire.

Note: Adapted from Sleep Medicine, Vol 4, Hening WA, Allen RP, Restless legs syndrome (RLS): the continuing development of diagnostic standards and severity measures, 95–97.¹ Copyright © 2003, with permission from Elsevier.

Hening WA, Allen RP. Restless legs syndrome (RLS): the continuing development of diagnostic standards and severity measures. Sleep Med. 2003;4(2):95–97.

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