Restless legs syndrome and pregnancy: a questionnaire study in the Poitiers District, France

Aims: To perform a large and detailed epidemiologic study on restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy in a European country.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was distributed by the medical staff in different outpatient waiting rooms (obstetrics and gynecology department of the university hospital, obstetrics and gynecology department of a private clinic, private midwives, private obstetrician-gynecologists, radiological centers before fetal ultrasound examination and general practitioners) in a French town and its surrounding area (200,000 inhabitants): A woman was considered affected if she met the International RLS Study Group criteria for RLS diagnosis.

Results: 1,022 pregnant women living in a French town were included. 24% of women were affected by RLS during their pregnancy. The disease was strongly related to the third trimester of pregnancy and had a significant impact on sleep leading to severe nocturnal and diurnal consequences with a high consumption of sleep medication.

Conclusions: RLS affects one quarter of pregnant women, essentially during the third trimester and represents an important public health issue with sleep medication intake.