Painful, even painful, restless legs syndrome strongly affects the quality of life of those who suffer from it. A new study shows that it would be associated with a risk of suicide and self-harm three times higher than the average.
Tingling, tingling, contractures or itching, but also burning sensations or sudden electric shock in the legs… These are the symptoms with which the 2 to 8% of the French population suffering from restless legs syndrome must live , also known as Willis-Ekbom disease.
A new study, conducted by Penn State University, in the United States, and published in JAMA Open Networkshows that these unpleasant, even painful symptoms, do not only harm the quality of sleep: they also strongly degrade the quality of life and can, in the most serious cases, lead to suicide or self-harm.
“Our study suggests that restless legs syndrome is not only related to physical conditions, but also to mental health,” said Xiang Gao, associate professor of nutritional sciences and director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Lab at Penn State. . “And as restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed and suicide rates rise, this link will be increasingly important. Clinicians should be careful when examining patients for restless legs syndrome and the risk of suicide.”
A risk 2.7 times higher than the average
If until now, researchers had noted that restless legs syndrome was associated with a higher risk of mortality, they still did not know why. Using data from the Truven Health MarketScan, the study authors were able to link the risk of suicide and self-harm with the syndrome. In total, they reviewed data from nearly 200,000 people between 2006 and 2014. Of these, 24,179 had been diagnosed with restless legs syndrome.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that people with restless legs syndrome were 270% more likely to commit suicide or self-harm than those without it. The risk did not decrease even when the researchers controlled for factors such as depression, sleep disturbances and common chronic illnesses.
“After controlling for these factors, we still did not see the association diminish, meaning restless legs syndrome could still be an independent variable contributing to suicide and self-harm,” Muzi Na acknowledges. , Broadhurst Professor of Career Development for the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Study at Penn State.”We still don’t know the exact reason, but our findings may help shape future research to learn more. on the mechanism.
The researchers will therefore conduct other studies to confirm, or not, these results.
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