CNN – One study estimates up to 29% of adults in Western industrialized countries have restless legs syndrome.
It is a condition that too few people can recognize in themselves, and many doctors don’t know how to manage properly, said Karla Dzienkowski, a nurse who is executive director of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
“Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by a need to move that is oftentimes associated with an uncomfortable feeling,” said Dr. John Winkelman, chief of the sleep disorders clinical research program at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The uncomfortable feeling — described as crawling, aching, tingling or throbbing — is often in the legs and sometimes the arms, he added.
Restlessness frequently happens when people with the condition are sitting or lying down, and it is relieved with movement, Winkelman said.
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Symptoms are more likely to occur when a person is at rest, most often at night, and because the syndrome interferes with sleep, it is classified as a sleep disorder, Winkelman said.
In moderate to severe cases, people experience restless legs syndrome several times a week, and in the most extreme cases, symptoms can delay sleep for several hours, said Dr. Brian Koo, associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Center for Restless Legs Syndrome.
Who gets it?
Two strong components play a role in who gets restless legs syndrome: genetics and iron levels.
Restless legs syndrome often runs in families, and genetic markers make up about 20% of the prediction of who will get it, Winkelman said.
Those with an iron deficiency are also more likely to get restless legs syndrome, including people who are pregnant, on dialysis, who are menstruating, who have anemia, or who are vegetarians, Winkelman said …
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