Fibromyalgia syndrome and restless legs syndrome coexistence: analysis of quality of life and sleep

Fibromyalgia Syndrome And Restless Legs Syndrome Coexistence: Analysis Of Quality Of Life And Sleep, Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pyhscial Medicine and Rehabilitation, Thesis of Pyhscial Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, Ankara, 2011. Fibromyalgia syndrome(FMS) and restless legs sydrome(RLS) are very common diseases in general population and both are diagnosed clinically. RLS is more common in patients with FMS and etiology of this condition is not fully known. Awareness about RLS is low. If RLS is underdiagnosed and not treated in case of FMS and RLS coexistance, treatment of FMS becomes more difficult and quality of life decreases. The aim of this study is finding prevalence and severity of RLS in patients with FMS and detection of effect of FMS and RLS coexistance on quality of life and quality of sleep. In this study, presence and severity of RLS were detected in patients followed with the diagnosis of FMS or newly diagnosed as FMS by face to face interview and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale(ESS) and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire(FIQ) scores of all patients were found. Full blood count, ferritin, creatinine, TSH levels were measured. 115 female patients with median age 49.0(39.0-57.0) [median(%25-75)] were included in the study. In 42.6% of patients RLS coexisting with FMS was found. RLS was classified as severe in 20.4% of patients and as moderate in 18.3% of patients. 91.3% of patients with FMS reported that they had sleep disorders and sleep disorders were detected in 76.5% of patients with PSQI. In patients with and without RLS, PSQI scores were 9.0±4.4vs7.8±4.3,p=0.003; ESS scores were 5.0(3.0-7.5) vs 3.0(1.0-4.3), p=0.036 and FIQ scores were 68.1±9.8 vs 59.4±16.9, p=0.027. Prevalence of sleep disorders and anemia were higher in patients with RLS. FIQ scores were higher in severe and very severe RLS groups than mild and moderate RLS groups. In our study, prevalence of RLS was found higher in FMS than normal population and quality sleep and quality of life were worse in patients with RLS. As a result, presence of RLS should be investigated in every patient with FMS and treatment plans should also cover RLS in case of coexistance with FMS. Prospective cohort studies are needed for better explanation of RLS and FMS coexistance.