Restless Legs Syndrome and Quality of Sleep in Pre-diabetic Patients: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background & aim: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterized by an uncomfortable urge to move the legs while at rest, relief upon movement or getting up to walk, and worsened symptom severity at night. Studies show that diabetic patients are at high risk of developing RLS and Studies have indicated a high risk of RLS development in diabetic patients, with an established association between RLS and diabetes. RLS has not been investigated in prediabetic patients; Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate RLS in prediabetic patients and its relationship with sleep quality, to help improvement of the patient's symptoms and blood sugar control by identifying sleep disorders related to RLS and managing it. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 166 patients meeting inclusion criteria in Yasuj, Iran in 2023. Participants completed the International Restless Legs Syndrome (IRLS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaires administered by the researcher. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and analytical statistics through the SPSS software Results: The mean age of the patients in the present study was 46.23 ± 11.68 years and ranged from 21 to 75 years. 96 (57.8%) were women and 70 (42.2%) were men. The average of RLS score in the examined patients was 6.54 ± 3.05 and ranged from 0 to 35. It was also shown that 68.07% had no symptoms of RLS. Therefore, the prevalence of RLS in pre-diabetic patients was 31.93%. Gender did not significantly affect RLS scores (P=0.951) and there was no significant difference in the severity of RLS between men and women (P=0.097). The mean of the sleep quality score in the investigated patients was 6.25 ± 4.00 and ranged from 0 to 17. It was also shown that 41% had sleep disorders and there was no significant difference between score of sleep quality in men and women (P=0.168). There was no significant difference between men and women having or not having sleep disorders (P=0.240). The results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between the severity of RLS and sleep disorder. (P Conclusion: The results of the study indicated a direct and significant relationship between RLS and sleep quality disorders in prediabetic patients.

Keywords

• restless legs syndrome
• sleep disorder
• prediabetes