J Korean Med Sci.  2016 May;31(5):790-794. 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.5.790.

Is There an Association between Restless Legs Syndrome and Urticaria?

• Tuna S
• Alan S
• Samancı N
• KarakaÅŸ A

• KMID: 2373679
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.5.790

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disease characterized by the urge to move the legs and sleep disturbances. Similarly, chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a dermatological disease characterized by pruritus and sleep disorders. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of RLS in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and to compare the quality of sleep of patients with and without RLS in the CSU group using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A total of 130 patients with CSU and 100 healthy controls were included in this study. The frequency of RLS, frequency of sleep disturbances, and average score of RLS in patients with CSU were statistically significantly higher than control groups (respectively P = 0.008, P = 0.009, P = 0.004). Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency and habitual sleep efficiency scores in patients with RLS were statistically significantly higher than patients without RLS (respectively P = 0.016, P = 0.007, P = 0.035). We claimed that pruritus of urticaria may decrease the quality of sleep in patients with RLS and it may trigger and worsen the restless legs syndrome. Furthermore, RLS and CSU may share a common etiology.

Keyword

Restless Legs Syndrome; Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria; Sleep Quality; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

MeSH Terms

Adult
Case-Control Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Restless Legs Syndrome/*complications/epidemiology/pathology
Severity of Illness Index
Sleep Wake Disorders/etiology
Urticaria/*complications/diagnosis

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Plot curve between RLS and UAS.

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