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The prevalence and associated risk factors of restless legs syndrome among Saudi adults

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Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence, risk factors, other associated sleep disorders and commodities of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) among a sample of Saudis population. The diagnosis of RLS was based on the four criteria designated by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG). Of 2095 participants, the average age of the sample was 42.3 (±15.5), and 848 (40.7%) were females. The prevalence of RLS was 14.7% with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 13.3–16.3%. The presence of RLS was higher in males than females (16.3% in males vs. 12.5% in females, P = 0.016). Risk factor for RLS was smoking (P = 0.002), depression (P = 0.001), short sleep duration (P = 0.005), hyperlipidemia (P = 0.013), poor sleep quality (P = 0.001), and high risk for sleep apnea (P = 0.001). The prevalence of RLS was not affected by various age groups (14.1% in the young age group (18–29 years), 15.9% in the middle-age group (30–60), and 11.7% in the elderly (over 60), P = 0.139). Among participants with RLS, 20.8% reported severe RLS, 30.7% reported moderate RLS, and 48.5% reported mild RLS. Using the multivariate logistic regression model we found that smoking (aOR = 1.686; 95% CI 1.199–2.372; P = 0.003), short sleep duration (aOR = 1.568; 95% CI 1.024–2.400; P = 0.039), poor sleep quality (aOR = 1.969; 95% CI 1.236–3.139; P = 0.004), and high risk of sleep apnea (aOR = 1.598; 95% CI 1.113–2.295; P = 0.011) were all significantly associated with the presence of RLS.

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Abbreviations

RLS:

Restless legs syndrome

OSA:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

BQ:

Berlin Questionnaire

ESS:

Epworth Sleeping Scale

EDS:

Excessive daytime sleepiness

BMI:

Body Mass Index

IRLSSG:

International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group

PSQI:

Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pulmonary Division-ICU, Department of Medicine, Sleep Disorders Center, King Saud University for Health Sciences, McGill University, King Abdulaziz Medical City, PO Box 101830*11665, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Nahid Sherbin, Abdullah Al-Harbi, Mohammad Khan, Salim Baharoon & Hamdan Al-Jahdali

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Anwar Ahmed

  3. College of Medicine, King Saud University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Abdulhamid Fatani, Khalid Al-Otaibi & Fares Al-Jahdali

  4. King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Yosra Z. Ali

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  1. Nahid Sherbin
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Sherbin, N., Ahmed, A., Fatani, A. et al. The prevalence and associated risk factors of restless legs syndrome among Saudi adults. Sleep Biol. Rhythms 15, 127–135 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-017-0089-7

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