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The Restless Legs of a Nantucket Farmer
Author(s) -
Freeman Joseph T.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1977.tb00416.x
Subject(s) - medicine , documentation , population , association (psychology) , restless legs syndrome , gerontology , pediatrics , psychiatry , environmental health , philosophy , epistemology , neurology , computer science , programming language
Ekbom's syndrome of restless legs is common but not restricted primarily to the elderly. Records of familial occurrence and association with several pathologic disorders preclude exclusive age‐association. Most cases of the syndrome in the general population are seen in persons of middle or old age. Lack of awareness of the frequency of the syndrome and lack of an adequate dependable form of treatment attest the need for additional study. Historical documentation is one way of alerting the profession to the nature, frequency and lineage of a clinical disorder that requires an accepted form of amelioration. Notes from the 1870–73 diary of a Nantucket farmer are presented.