Investigation and Clinical Importance of Obsessive and Compulsive Signs Among Patients with Restless Legs Syndrome

Abstract

Objective:The purpose of this study was to examine obsessive and compulsive signs among patients with Restless Legs syndrome (RLS), to compare the results with healthy controls and to investigate clinic importance of those signs.Methods:Thirty nine patients with RLS and 40 age-, sex- and education- matched healthy controls were assessed in Bezmialem Foundation University Medical Faculty Hospital Neurology and Psychiatry Clinics Hospital. Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV axis-1 disorders severe combined immune deficiency-1, socio-demographic data form and Maudsley obsessive compulsive inventory (MOCI) were applied to both patients and controls. Patient group was also classified according to the International RLS Study Group RLS severity scale.Results:Patient group had higher MOCI total scores and doubting and rumination subscale scores than the control group and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). No statistically significant relationship was found between RLS severity score and MOCI total and subscale scores.Conclusion:Patients with RLS were generally found to have more obsessive and compulsive signs than healthy controls. In view of the fact that RLS is often a late-diagnosed syndrome, searching for concomitant RLS among young people who have obsessive and compulsive signs may be helpful for early diagnosis of RLS.

Keywords

• Restless Legs syndrome
• alexithymia
• depression
• anxiety