Background and purpose: A higher prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in migraineurs has been reported in clinical samples and in two large-scale clinical trials performed on healthcare workers but general population-based studies on this topic are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the association between migraine and RLS in an Italian rural adult population-based setting.
Methods: The presence of migraine and RLS was assessed via a computer-assisted personal interview and self-administered questionnaires according to current diagnostic criteria in 1567 participants of a preliminary phase of an adult population-based study performed in South Tyrol, Italy.
Results: Migraineurs had an increased risk of having RLS also after adjustment for confounding factors such as age, sex, major depression, anxiety and sleep quality (odds ratio 1.79; confidence interval 1.00-3.19; P = 0.049). This association was not modified by aura status and possible causes of secondary RLS. RLS was not significantly associated with tension-type headache.
Conclusions: Restless legs syndrome and migraine were associated in our rural adult population. This association could be explained by a possible shared pathogenic pathway which would implicate new management strategies of these two disorders.
Keywords: comorbidity; headache; migraine; restless legs syndrome; sleep disorders.
© 2014 The Author(s) European Journal of Neurology © 2014 EAN.