Race and restless legs syndrome symptoms in an adult community sample in east Baltimore.
OBJECTIVE
Due to the relative absence of African-Americans seeking treatment for restless legs syndrome (RLS) in specialty clinics, a lower prevalence of RLS among African-Americans than Caucasians has been suggested. We compared the prevalence of RLS in African-Americans and Caucasians in a biracial community sample as part of Wave IV of the Baltimore Health and Mental Health Study.


METHODS
Subjects included 1071 adults [358 African-Americans (35.0%), and 633 Caucasians (61.8%), and 33 others]. Diagnosis of RLS was based on endorsement of RLS symptoms on a seven-item RLS questionnaire during a household interview. Adjusted odds and 95% confidence intervals were calculated based on logistic regression models with diagnosis of RLS as the main outcome variables and African-American race as the main predictor while adjusting for other relevant sociodemographic and/or health-related variables.


RESULTS
The prevalence of RLS in this population was 4.1%. The rates were similar for African-Americans (4.7%) and Caucasians (3.8%). After adjustment for age, gender, medical comorbidities, and socioeconomic status, no difference in the prevalence of RLS was found between African-Americans and Caucasians.


CONCLUSIONS
RLS is comparably prevalent among African-American and Caucasian adults in the general population. Barriers affecting access to care settings for African-American RLS patients should be investigated in the future.
Lee
Hochang B
HB
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 550 North Broadway, Suite 308, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. hochang@jhmi.edu
Hening
Wayne A
WA
Allen
Richard P
RP
Earley
Christopher J
CJ
Eaton
William W
WW
Lyketsos
Constantine G
CG
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015142:Baltimore; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*