According to a 2022 Inserm study, people with restless legs syndrome often suffer from impaired sleep that can degrade their quality of life.
- Restless legs syndrome creates unpleasant sensations in the lower limbs causing patients to move them regularly.
- RLS manifests itself in the evening and at night preventing patients from sleeping.
- Psychological follow-up can improve depressive symptoms.
Tingling, tingling, tightness, “electric shock”… These are the symptoms that occur in people with restless legs syndrome (RLS). This chronic disease is characterized by these unpleasant sensations, called “impatience”, as well as an irrepressible need to move the lower limbs. These symptoms occur at rest, most often in the evening or at night, while lying down. To feel better, patients need to move their legs regularly. This syndrome therefore affects the quality of sleep of patients and, consequently, their quality of life.
An increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts
Restless legs syndrome can also impact patients’ mental health, according to an Inserm study published in February 2022. “Some surveys and clinical studies suggest that people with RLS are at increased risk of experiencing depressive symptoms or having suicidal thoughts, especially those with insomnia” said neurologist Yves Dauvilliers from the Montpellier Neuroscience Institute in the Inserm publication. No study had quantified the importance of these complaints, nor the way in which the therapy can counteract these psychological consequences. This is why Yves Dauvilliers decided to work on this subject with the team of the National Narcolepsy Hypersomnia Reference Center.
To carry out this study, the researchers recruited 529 adults with restless legs syndrome who did not receive any psychological support. They completed a questionnaire to assess the presence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. The patients’ responses were compared to those of people of the same age and gender who did not have this chronic condition. According to the results, among patients affected by RLS, 79% suffered from insomnia, 32.5% had depressive symptoms and 28% had suicidal thoughts, compared to 8.3%, 5.5% and 9.5% respectively. % of unaffected adults.
The need for psychological follow-up
Scientists found that sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms were significantly reduced one year after each patient received psychological support and appropriate treatment. “This result is important because it proves that the appropriate management of RLS can reduce sensorimotor symptoms, but also those related to mental health”, exhibited Yves Dauvilliers.
But the frequency of suicidal thoughts has hardly changed. “Be careful, we are talking about suicidal ideas and not suicidal behavior. In practice, our clinical experience and the literature show that acting out remains rare and certainly multifactorial. However, doctors must be made aware of this risk so that ‘they are vigilant about the mental health of their patients with RLS’insisted the neurologist.