title: Restless legs syndrome and pregnancy: a questionnaire study in the Poitiers District, France.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, CHU La Milétrie, Poitiers Cedex 05, France. jph.neau@chu-Poitiers.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Neau
authors.forename: Adeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porcheron
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathis
authors.forename: Adrien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Julian
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Meurice
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paquereau
authors.forename: Gaëlle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Godeneche
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ciron
authors.forename: Gauthier
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bouche
mesh_terms: 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