Study: Who Could Be at Risk for Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome, known to cause discomfort in the legs that disrupts sleep and causes quality of life issues, has always been a bit of a mystery. It can be challenging to treat, impossible to cure, and has causes that are unclear.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it tends to run in families. It also can occur along with other medical conditions, such as nerve damage, pregnancy, or end-stage renal disease. Iron deficiency, the use of certain medications, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine can also contribute to the development of RLS.
Of course, all these mysteries related to RLS are of little consolation to the 7-10% of people in the United States who may have restless legs syndrome. Women are more likely to experience the condition than men.
How do we determine who is at higher risk for RLS?
A landmark study was published in the June 2024 issue of the journal Nature Genetics. This massive meta-analysis looked at the genetic factors for 116,647 people with RLS, compared to over 1,000,000 control subjects.
The long-term impact of the study could have value in risk recognition, prevention, treatments and more.
“It’s a profound paper,” says Ihtsham Haq, M.D., chief of the Division of Movement Disorders at the University of Miami Health System. “It’s the largest look to date at the genetics of RLS, comparing the genes of more than 100,000 people with RLS to those of 1.5 million people without it.
“As you might imagine, this has uncovered a lot of suspected and unsuspected relationships. It increases the number of known genetic loci (the location of a gene on a chromosome) almost eight-fold. It also shows us how risk relates to gender and associated conditions like diabetes, and it created a risk-prediction model that used AI to determine which of these factors most contributed to RLS.”
There are some risk factors you can control.
This study reinforces the notion that some risk factors are within your control. Dr. Haq says lifestyle modifications may reduce your risk of RLS or minimize the impact and severity of your symptoms. These include maintaining a healthy blood pressure level, keeping diabetes symptoms under control and getting good-quality sleep.
Dr. Haq also says that this study could impact the quality of treatments for RLS in the future.
“Any increase in our understanding of a condition also helps us to learn how to better treat it, even if not right away,” he says. “The study lays the groundwork for developing new treatment targets and for knowing why certain drugs work better for some people rather than others.”
The future of restless leg syndrome
Dr. Haq says this study is the first step to a better understanding of RLS. As the results are analyzed and additional research is conducted, it could lead to a better recognition of people at risk of RLS, understanding which steps are important for RLS prevention and better treatments for people with RLS.
Wyatt Myers is a contributor for UHealth’s News service.
Resources
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), Sleep Foundation, 2021, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/restless-legs-syndrome
Restless Legs Syndrome Fact Sheet, NIH, 2020, https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Restless-Legs-Syndrome-Fact-Sheet
Disruptive Leg Movement? Managing Restless Legs Syndrome, NIH, 2021, https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2021/07/disruptive-leg-movement
Genome-wide meta-analyses of restless legs syndrome yield insights into genetic architecture, disease biology and risk prediction, Nature Genetics, June 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01763-1
Interview with Ihtsham Haq, MD, chief of the Division of Movement Disorders with the University of Miami Health System.
Tags: better sleep, Dr. Ihtsham Haq, leg pain, movement disorders, restless legs syndrome
