Restless legs syndrome and pregnancy: a questionnaire study in the Poitiers District, France.
OBJECTIVE
To perform a large and detailed epidemiologic study on restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy in a European country.


METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was distributed by the medical staff in different outpatient waiting rooms (obstetrics and gynecology department of the university hospital, obstetrics and gynecology department of a private clinic, private midwives, private obstetrician-gynecologists, radiological centers before fetal ultrasound examination and general practitioners) in a French town and its surrounding area (200,000 inhabitants): A woman was considered affected if she met the International RLS Study Group criteria for RLS diagnosis.


RESULTS
1,022 pregnant women living in a French town were included. 24% of women were affected by RLS during their pregnancy. The disease was strongly related to the third trimester of pregnancy and had a significant impact on sleep leading to severe nocturnal and diurnal consequences with a high consumption of sleep medication.


CONCLUSIONS
RLS affects one quarter of pregnant women, essentially during the third trimester and represents an important public health issue with sleep medication intake.
Neau
Jean-Philippe
JP
Department of Neurology, CHU La Milétrie, Poitiers Cedex 05, France. jph.neau@chu-Poitiers.fr
Porcheron
Adeline
A
Mathis
Stéphane
S
Julian
Adrien
A
Meurice
Jean-Claude
JC
Paquereau
Joël
J
Godeneche
Gaëlle
G
Ciron
Jonathan
J
Bouche
Gauthier
G
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult