Objective: The aim of the present study is to explore the clinical significance and frequency of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in a sample of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD)
Background: RLS is a movement disorder that has a circadian pattern and affects the quality of sleep, causing insomnia and affects the quality of life
Method: We compared the clinical features of 131 PD patients with and without RLS, using specific motor and non-motor symptoms scales, with a focus on the quality of life (Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire, PDQ 39), sleep fragmentation (Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale, PDSS 2), diurnal hypersomnia (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, ESS) and insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index, ISI)
Results: Thirty-five patients (26.71%) out of the total subjects diagnosed with PD met the RLS diagnostic criteria, without significant differences between male and female (57,14% vs 42,87%, p=0.58). Also, there were no significant differences in the age of PD onset (PD-RLS (+) 68.303 ± 10.69 vs PD-RLS (-) 69.66 ± 9.89 years, p=0.34) or PD duration (PD-RLS (+) 6.43 ± 5.37 vs PD-RLS (-) 4.58 ± 3.66 years, p=0.36) regardless of the presence or absence of RLS. We noticed a significant correlation of the RLS positive diagnosis with the motor score when evaluated with the UPDRS III (p=0.009). Considering the quality of life using PDQ-39, significant differences were seen in the bodily discomfort dimension (p<0.001) and PDQ-39 total score (p=0.046) between the PD-RLS (+) and PD-RLS (-) group, with worse results in the PD- RLS (+) group. There were differences in nocturnal sleep quality between the two population according to the PDSS-2 score, with a higher score among PD-RLS (+) patients as compared with those without RLS (31.43 ± 10.18 vs 20.84 ± 9.91, p<0.0001)
Conclusion: RLS has a high frequency in patients with PD, aggravating sleep disturbance in PD with a significant important in the quality of life of these patients
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Diaconu, R. Zosin, L. Irincu, E. Ungureanu, A. Zarnoveanu, V. Vasile, M. Cusnir, N. Enache, C. Falup-Pecurariu. restless leg syndrome in parkinson’s disease patients: prevalence and correlates with sleep parameters [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/restless-leg-syndrome-in-parkinsons-disease-patients-prevalence-and-correlates-with-sleep-parameters/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/restless-leg-syndrome-in-parkinsons-disease-patients-prevalence-and-correlates-with-sleep-parameters/