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Restless legs syndrome among pregnant women in China: prevalence and risk factors

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Abstract

Background

The goal of this study was to identify the prevalence and clinical correlates and severity of restless legs syndrome (RLS) among pregnant women in mainland China.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled 1584 women (18–40 years old) who came to a prenatal outpatient clinic to consult an obstetrician. Pregnant women were studied in each trimester, and assessments included interviews about RLS symptoms and related questions. Standardized questionnaires include the International Restless Syndrome Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire. Blood tests included levels of hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume.

Results

RLS was diagnosed in 177 of 1584 women (11.2 %); 4.2 % were categorized as having pre-existing RLS and 54.8 % reported onset of RLS symptoms after the 24th week. Multivariate analysis revealed that anemia was positively correlated with RLS. For the participants who first experienced RLS in pregnancy, RLS severity in the third trimester was more severe when compared with the first and second trimesters. Sleep disorders occurred more frequently in the third trimester.

Conclusions

In our study, RLS was frequent in pregnant Chinese women, and anemia was identified as an independent predictor of the disease. Further, most participants reported their symptoms during the third trimester, and the severity of RLS and sleep disorders of participants was more prominent in the third trimester.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants and staff who took part in the questionnaire survey. This investigation received financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (U1304804) and The Youth Innovation Fund of The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Records, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoping Shang

  2. Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Jinjian Yang & Rui Xue

  3. Ultrasound Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Guo

  4. Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Shengli Ma & Zhankui Jia

  5. Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Xue

Authors
  1. Xiaoping Shang
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  2. Jinjian Yang
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  3. Yu Guo
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  4. Shengli Ma
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  5. Zhankui Jia
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  6. Rui Xue
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rui Xue.

Additional information

Xiaoping Shang and Jinjian Yang contributed equally to this study.

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Shang, X., Yang, J., Guo, Y. et al. Restless legs syndrome among pregnant women in China: prevalence and risk factors. Sleep Breath 19, 1093–1099 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-014-1089-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-014-1089-3

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