Restless legs syndrome in Parkinson's disease: relationship with quality of life and medication

We aimed to disclose the relationship between restless leg syndrome (RLS) and antiparkinsonian treatment, and its effect on quality of life (QoL) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies documented the prevalence of RLS among patients with PD to be higher than in the general population, but conclusions regarding the aetiology and impact were contradictory. We examined 101 patients with idiopathic PD. All participants completed the five-dimension/five-level-EuroQoL questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and the International Restless-Legs-syndrome-study-group rating Scale (IRLS). The prevalence of RLS was 22.77 %. There were no statistically significant differences in levodopa or dopamine agonists (DA) doses between RLS-positive and negative participants. However, the use of levodopa as the last night-time medication was connected with a higher risk of RLS (OR=2.049, p=0.041). There was significantly lower prevalence of RLS in patients after surgical treatment for PD (p=0.024). Participants with RLS were at a greater risk for sleep disturbances (OR=3.866, p=0.023) and excessive daytime sleepiness (OR=7.202, p