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Prevalence of restless legs syndrome in female blood donors 1 week after blood donation
Author(s) -
Pedrazzini B.,
Waldvogel S.,
Vaucher P.,
Cornuz J.,
Heinzer R.,
Tissot J.D.,
Favrat B.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/vox.12123
Subject(s) - medicine , restless legs syndrome , blood donor , population , donation , mood , ferritin , blood donations , blood pressure , immunology , insomnia , psychiatry , environmental health , economics , economic growth
Background and Objective Restless legs syndrome ( RLS ) is a frequent condition with a prevalence of 5–15% in the general population. Clinical and genetic observations have shown that iron deficiency, highly prevalent among blood donors, can be related to RLS . The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of RLS in female blood donors 1 week after blood donation. Methods One week after blood donation, 291 female blood donors, aged <50 years, self‐responded to all four RLS questions defined by the 1995 International RLS study group. Blood donation rate, fatigue, aerobic capacity, menstruation, mood disorder and quality of life were also assessed along with haemoglobin and ferritin blood concentrations. Results Prevalence of RLS in female blood donors 1 week after blood donation was 6·9% ( CI 95% 4·2–10·4%). Female blood donors with RLS had a higher prevalence of hyper‐menorrhaea ( P = 0·033) and were significantly more tired ( P = 0·001). We observed no associations between RLS and number of previous donations ( P = 0·409), aerobic capacity ( P = 0·476), mood disorder ( P = 0·169), quality of life ( P = 0·356), haemoglobin ( P = 0·087), and serum ferritin level ( P = 0·446). Conclusion Restless legs syndrome prevalence in female blood donors is not as important as described in some other studies, which could reassure blood donors. The prevalence of hypermenorrhaea and fatigue is higher in RLS blood donors. Therefore, screening for fatigue and hypermenorrhaea could be considered as these symptoms are associated with RLS in female blood donors.