Open AccessRestless legs syndrome in pregnancy is a frequent disorder with a good prognosis
Author(s) -
UGLANE MARIT T.,
WESTAD STIAN,
BACKE BJØRN
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01157.x
Subject(s) - restless legs syndrome , medicine , pregnancy , incidence (geometry) , obstetrics , population , gestation , pediatrics , psychiatry , insomnia , genetics , physics , environmental health , optics , biology
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of restless legs syndrome in pregnancy. We distributed a questionnaire to 541 consecutive postpartum patients and received answers from 251 (46%) women. Of the participants, 34% reported restless legs syndrome in pregnancy. In 97% of the women in whom restless legs syndrome had started during the pregnancy, the symptoms disappeared within two to three days after delivery. There was no correlation between pregnancy‐related restless legs syndrome and low hemoglobin levels in the first trimester, and the incidence of restless legs syndrome was not affected by use of iron supplementation. We conclude that in our population, restless legs syndrome in pregnancy is both frequent and transient, occurring in approximately one in three pregnancies and typically resolving within a few days after delivery.