title: Prevalence of restless legs syndrome in chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nowadays prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients was reported in many studies, while the results varied. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of RLS in this population, considering different data collecting measures and diagnostic criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases were searched for relevant studies. We limited the analyses to studies using clinical interview or questionnaire for diagnosis. Univariate meta-regression analysis was preformed to assess the effects of the disease-related covariates on prevalence estimates. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-one studies were included in the analysis. Prevalence of RLS was varied by renal function and diagnostic methods. Overall prevalence in CKD populations was 24.2% (95%CI, 20.1-28.7). Pooled prevalence of RLS was higher in patients diagnosed by questionnaire than by clinical interview [26.2% (95%CI, 17.9-36.5) vs. 23.6% (95%CI, 19.6-28.1)]. When grouped by CKD setting, the prevalence was 28.4% (95%CI, 24.6-32.6) in dialysis patients, followed by early stages patients [9.9% (95%CI, 5.4-17.5)], and kidney transplant recipients [6.7% (95%CI, 5.6-7.8)].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis suggested that more than one-quarter of CKD sufferers, especially those who were on dialysis, were plagued by RLS. Higher sensitivity of diagnostic criteria in interview may be valuable for timely treatment.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Zhenchuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Qimei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Xueqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Key Laboratory of Nephrology, Ministry of Health , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Fengxian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Prevalence; chronic kidney disease; meta-analysis; restless legs syndrome