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Restless legs syndrome in psoriasis: an unexpected comorbidity

  • Clinical report
  • Published:
European Journal of Dermatology Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them in order to gain relief. Higher frequencies of RLS have been reported in systemic lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and atopic dermatitis.

Objectives

Since the disease-related stress present in psoriasis is similar to the stress of those diseases, we aimed to study the frequency of RLS in a German cohort of patients with psoriasis.

Methods

300 patients with psoriasis and 300 healthy controls were evaluated for RLS symptoms in this study.

Results

While 17% (n = 51) of patients with psoriasis reported symptoms of RLS, only 4% (n = 12) of individuals without psoriasis suffered from RLS symptoms (95% confidence interval: 0.08–0.18, p<0.01). In patients with psoriasis and RLS the average RLS score was 16.0 ± 9.2 whereas individuals with RLS in the control group had an average RLS score of 13.5 ± 7.1.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate an increased frequency of RLS in patients with psoriasis, suggesting screening patients with psoriasis for the presence of RLS as a well-treatable co-morbidity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen, Germany

    Caroline Schell & Holger Lerche

  2. Department of Dermatology, Oral Medicine and Maxillofacial Surgery, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Liebermeisterstr. 25, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Ramona Schleich, Florian Walker, Amir S. Yazdi, Martin Röcken, Kamran Ghoreschi & Franziska C. Eberle

  3. Center of Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Maxillofacial Surgery, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Liebermeisterstr. 25, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Detlef Axmann

Authors
  1. Caroline Schell
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  2. Ramona Schleich
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  3. Florian Walker
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  4. Amir S. Yazdi
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  5. Holger Lerche
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  6. Martin Röcken
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  7. Detlef Axmann
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  8. Kamran Ghoreschi
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  9. Franziska C. Eberle
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Correspondence to Kamran Ghoreschi.

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Schell, C., Schleich, R., Walker, F. et al. Restless legs syndrome in psoriasis: an unexpected comorbidity. Eur J Dermatol 25, 255–260 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2015.2525

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2015.2525

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