RLS Diagnosis Often Overlooked

Researchers took a closer look at restlesslegs syndrome (RLS) in a studyreported on recently in the Archives ofInternal Medicine. The RLS Epidemiology,Symptoms and Treatment (REST) GeneralPopulation Study questioned >15,000individuals about any RLS symptoms theyhad had in the previous year, the natureand frequency of those symptoms, thedegree of associated distress, and priorphysician consultation and diagnosis.

The investigators found that 7.2% of allthe participants reported having at leastsome RLS symptoms, and 2.7% of thestudy participants were defined as individualswith RLS. The study defined the conditionas having symptoms 2 to 3 times aweek that were either moderately or severelydistressing. In terms of RLS frequencyamong men and women, the occurrencewas almost twice as high in women (9%),compared with men (5.4%). The researchalso showed that the prevalence of RLSincreased up to age 79 and then declined.