Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease and Pregnancy

Chiara Prosperetti; Mauro Manconi

doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2015.05.016

Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease and Pregnancy

Sleep Med Clin. 2015 Sep;10(3):323-9, xiv. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2015.05.016. Epub 2015 Jun 22.

Authors

Chiara Prosperetti¹, Mauro Manconi²

Affiliations

¹ Sleep Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital of Lugano, Via Tesserete 46, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.
² Sleep Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital of Lugano, Via Tesserete 46, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland. Electronic address: mauro.manconi@eoc.ch.

PMID: 26329442
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2015.05.016

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome (RLS)/Willis-Ekbom disease is 3-fold more prevalent in pregnant than in non-pregnant women. Symptoms are particularly strong and frequent during the third trimester of pregnancy and disappear around delivery. A pre-existing form of RLS tends to worsen during pregnancy. Women who experience RLS during pregnancy have a higher risk of symptoms in further pregnancies and of developing a primary form of RLS later in life, than women free of symptoms during pregnancy. This article reviews the literature for pregnancy-related RLS, with particular attention to its epidemiology, course, possible mechanisms, management, and the impact of symptoms.

Keywords: Pregnancy; Restless legs syndrome; Sleep; Willis-Ekbom disease.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology
Pregnancy Complications / physiopathology*
Pregnancy Complications / therapy*
Prevalence
Restless Legs Syndrome / complications
Restless Legs Syndrome / epidemiology
Restless Legs Syndrome / physiopathology*
Restless Legs Syndrome / therapy*