Restless legs symptoms in thyroid disorders

Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2004 Mar;10(3):149-51. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2003.11.003.

Abstract

Dopaminergic dysfunction is associated with thyroid disorders and restless legs syndrome (RLS). In a 'face-to-face' interview, we evaluated for RLS using the diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) in patients diagnosed biochemically with either hyper- or hypothyroidism, and in controls without thyroid disorders. Amongst 146 consecutive patients with biochemically confirmed thyroid disorders, none satisfied all the IRLSSG criteria of RLS, similar to the control population (0.2%, 1/434). However, we found 8.2% (12/146) with RLS-like symptoms (satisfied the first 3 IRLSSG criteria) compared to 0.9% (4/434) in the controls (p < 0.0001). Four (33.3%) of these patients reported complete resolution of these symptoms after treatment for their thyroid condition. In conclusion, while RLS-like symptoms were observed in some patients with thyroid disorders, our study demonstrates no significant difference of RLS prevalence between patients with thyroid disorders and euthyroid controls.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Ambulatory Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Restless Legs Syndrome / complications
  • Restless Legs Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Restless Legs Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Thyroid Diseases / complications
  • Thyroid Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Thyroid Diseases / epidemiology