[Quality of life in restless legs syndrome. Influence of daytime sleepiness and fatigue].
OBJECTIVE
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent neurologic disorder characterized by leg paresthesia and motor restlessness. It is still under debate to which amount the disease affects quality of life as it causes daytime sleepiness and fatigue. The presented study evaluates the daytime problems by different scales.


METHODS
28 patients (19 women, nine men, aged 58.6 +/- 11.9 years) with RLS (78% with a severe form) were evaluated with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the SF-36 to judge quality of life. Subscales of the SF-36 contain either rather physical or mental components.


RESULTS
17/28 patients showed an increased daytime sleepiness (ESS) and 17/28 increased fatigue (FSS), whereby these symptoms did not correlate. With regard to the SF-36 scores higher values of fatigue caused a greater limitation of the physical health, daytime sleepiness correlated with limitation of the mental health.


CONCLUSIONS
The study clearly demonstrates an impairment by fatigue and daytime sleepiness in RLS patients. Daytime symptoms worsen quality of life. Different scales have to be used to measure the different daytime symptoms. Therapy must be adjusted to the leading symptoms (e. g., stimulants in daytime sleepiness).
Gerhard
Romana
R
Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik, Berufsgenossenschaftliche Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Klinikum der Ruhr-Universität, Bochum.
Bosse
Anna
A
Uzun
Demet
D
Orth
Maritta
M
Kotterba
Sylvia
S
D000368:Aged; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires