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Prevalence and risk factors of RLS in an elderly population

The MEMO Study

From the Section of Neurology (Drs. Trenkwalder and Rothdach), Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich; and the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine (Drs. Berger, Haberstock, and Keil) and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Berger), Muenster University, Germany.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A.J. Rothdach, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Section of Neurology, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prevalence, sociodemographic characteristics, and risk factors of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in a population-based survey of the elderly, using standard diagnostic criteria.

BACKGROUND: Population-based studies of RLS are rare and have not yet used standard definition criteria.

METHODS: The Memory and Morbidity in Augsburg Elderly (MEMO) Study is a follow-up project of the World Health Organization Monitoring Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) Survey–Augsburg, Germany, 1989–1990, evaluating neurologic diseases and their risk factors in a German population 65 to 83 years of age. Two RLS-trained physicians assessed the prevalence of RLS based on the four minimal standard criteria (International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group, 1995) using standardized questions in face-to-face interviews. They also obtained information on medical history, medications, depression (Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), and quality of life (Short Form 36) and performed a standardized neurologic examination for each participant.

RESULTS: The study population included 369 participants (173 women and 196 men). The overall prevalence of RLS was 9.8% (n = 36) and higher in women (13.9% versus 6.1%; p = 0.02). In women, the prevalence did not change with age, whereas men showed a nonsignificant inverse trend with increasing age. RLS-positive individuals took more benzodiazepines and estrogen compared with non-RLS cases, but the differences were not statistically significant. Participants with RLS had higher incidence of depression (p = 0.012) and lower self-reported mental health scores (p = 0.029) than did non-RLS cases.

CONCLUSIONS: RLS is a frequent syndrome in the elderly with considerable impact on self-perceived mental health, affecting women about twice as often as men.

Key words: Restless legs syndrome—Prevalence—Risk factors—Elderly.

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