title: Prevalence of restless legs syndrome in somatoform pain disorder and its effect on quality of life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persistent somatoform pain disorder (SPD) is a condition in which the patient suffers from persistent, severe and distressing pain; and from associated physical and psychological distress. While presence of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in SPD is understudied, their association might have an impact on general well-being and quality of life (QoL) in SPD.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Present study aimed at evaluating the prevalence of RLS in SPD patients attending outpatient department services at a tertiary care institute in eastern India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and forty consecutive patients with SPD were screened initially and after applying appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria, 192 subjects (male = 85, female = 107) were included in the study. Severity of RLS was assessed using a questionnaire of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group and QoL was measured on QoL Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Revealed a 28% prevalence of RLS is in patients with SPD, which is much higher than its estimated population prevalence. A larger proportion of those with RLS had continuous course of SPD, longer duration of SPD, and higher daytime sleepiness. They also had poorer scores on Q-LES-Q-SF, indicating a poorer QoL overall.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report, to the best of our knowledge, on this aspect from India. While this association between RLS and SPD may have biological explanation based on abnormal monoaminergic neurotransmission system, the findings call for more vigilant approach to SPD patients in order to improve their QoL and add to their well-being.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Seshadri Sekhar
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Sayantanava
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitra
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Prathama
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guha
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and J.N.M. Hospital, Kalyani, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Kaustav
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
keywords: Dopamine; restless leg syndrome; somatoform pain disorder