Study:
Restless legs syndrome common, yet undiagnosed
May 24, 2004 -- About one in 10 people suffer weekly from a syndrome that causes leg discomfort and leads to sleeplessness, and few are properly diagnosed by their physicians, according to a drug company-funded study to be released Tuesday.
The study, based on surveys of 23,052 people in five countries, indicates that many doctors and patients do not recognize restless legs syndrome, even when a sufferer reports experiencing symptoms twice a week.
"The patient didn't know what they had. The doctor didn't know what they had and, as a result, the people suffering from this condition didn't really get the medical care they deserve," said study co-author Dr. Wayne Hening, a clinical assistant professor of neurology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J.
The syndrome is characterized by deep "creepy crawly" sensations in a person's legs when they are not moving, and especially when a person tries to go to sleep, Hening said.
"These people often have the worst sleep of anybody," he said. "They get a few hours of fragmented sleep and are up and down every night and this can go on for years."
When they do fall asleep sufferers have been known to inadvertently kick bedmates, doctors said.
The study, which asked people to answer questionnaires at their primary care physicians' offices, found that 9.6 percent exhibited symptoms of the syndrome once a week and about a quarter of those people reported symptoms occurring at least twice a week.
Of those 551 more chronic sufferers, nearly 65 percent reported consulting their doctors about the condition, but less than 13 percent of those were diagnosed with the syndrome, according to the study.
Nearly 70 of the more chronic sufferers said it took them more than 30 minutes to get to sleep and 60 percent reported they awoke three or more times each night. The study also cited effects of sleep disruption as a consequence of the syndrome, with nearly half of chronic sufferers reporting their activities were affected the following day and 54 percent reporting they became depressed.
The study, which was co-authored by doctors at institutions elsewhere in New Jersey and in Baltimore, Montreal, and Milan, Italy, estimated that more than 3 percent of people who see a doctor suffer from forms of the syndrome that can be treated medically.
Dr. Clete Kushida, director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research, reviewed the study and said it was "groundbreaking" because of its scope.
Surveys were conducted in Germany, France, Spain, the United States and United Kingdom.
"The hope is that physicians and patients will realize that restless legs syndro-me is a common condition that can be diagnosed and treated successfully and that patients should not hesitate if they have these symptoms to talk to their physician about it," said Kushida, who is on the medical advisory board of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
He said he treated one man, a traveling salesman, who could only find temporary relief from his discomfort while driving by hitting his legs with a baseball bat.
Kushida said treatments for the syndrome that are known to be successful include medications now prescribed for Parkinson's disease and for epilepsy. Tranquilizers and opiates, such as codeine, also are prescribed.
Hening said the federal government has yet to approve a medication specifically for the treatment of the ailment.
Kilde: EVAN BERLAND Associated Press Writer May 24, 2004, 11:19 AM EDT
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Diagnostiske kriterier for Restless Legs:
1. Et påtrængende behov for at bevæge benene, sædvanligvis ledsaget af ubehagelige følelser i benene
2. Symptomerne forværres ved hvile og inaktivitet
3. Symptomerne ophører helt eller delvis ved bevægelse av benene
4. Symptomerne forværres om aftenen eller natten
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