title: Restless legs syndrome among pregnant women in China: prevalence and risk factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of this study was to identify the prevalence and clinical correlates and severity of restless legs syndrome (RLS) among pregnant women in mainland China.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study enrolled 1584 women (18-40 years old) who came to a prenatal outpatient clinic to consult an obstetrician. Pregnant women were studied in each trimester, and assessments included interviews about RLS symptoms and related questions. Standardized questionnaires include the International Restless Syndrome Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire. Blood tests included levels of hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RLS was diagnosed in 177 of 1584 women (11.2%); 4.2% were categorized as having pre-existing RLS and 54.8% reported onset of RLS symptoms after the 24th week. Multivariate analysis revealed that anemia was positively correlated with RLS. For the participants who first experienced RLS in pregnancy, RLS severity in the third trimester was more severe when compared with the first and second trimesters. Sleep disorders occurred more frequently in the third trimester.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study, RLS was frequent in pregnant Chinese women, and anemia was identified as an independent predictor of the disease. Further, most participants reported their symptoms during the third trimester, and the severity of RLS and sleep disorders of participants was more prominent in the third trimester.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Records, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jian She Dong Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Jinjian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Zhankui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xue
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011264:Pregnancy Trimesters; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult