title: Prevalence and quality of life and sleep in children and adolescents with restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease.
abstract: To estimate the prevalence of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED) and its impact on sleep and quality of life in children and adolescents.
  
  
  
  This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Municipality of Cássia dos Coqueiros, Brazil. Participants included 383 children and adolescents 5-17 years of age. A comparison group was randomly matched by gender and age with the RLS/WED-affected individuals, pairing one by one.
  
  
  
  Interviews were conducted for 383 individuals by a neurologist experienced in sleep medicine. RLS/WED was diagnosed using the essential clinical criteria for definitive RLS/WED in children recommended by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. Sleep and quality of life were evaluated using the Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) and the Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire─Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Comparisons were established with a group of randomly selected individuals without RLS/WED, matched by age and gender (control group). The prevalence of RLS/WED symptoms that manifested at least twice a week was 1.9%. The average age of children with RLS/WED was higher compared to the general population (11.5 ± 2.3 vs 9.9 ± 2.5, p < 0.005). A family history of RLS/WED was detected in 90.9% of the patients. The scores obtained by SBQ were higher (53.9 ± 9.4 vs 47.6 ± 10.9, p < 0.047), whereas the scores achieved by PedsQL were lower (69.8 ± 14.8 vs 81.9 ± 10.4, p < 0.003) in children with RLS/WED compared to controls.
  
  
  
  The prevalence of RLS/WED symptoms manifested at least twice in the preceding week was 1.9% in children and adolescents. Worsened sleep and quality of life were observed in the study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heidi Haueisen
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: eckeli_alan@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Alan Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Eckeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Afonso Diniz
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Costa Passos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucila Bizari
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Fernandes do Prado
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regina Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: França Fernandes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Children; Epidemiology; Quality of life; Restless legs syndrome; Sleep quality; Willis-Ekbom disease