Symptom Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome Predicts Its Clinical Course

This study examines the clinical course of restless legs syndrome according to its severity and factors associated with the remission of restless legs syndrome symptoms.

The remission or persistence of restless legs syndrome symptoms was investigated by considering patients with restless legs syndrome at the sleep clinic of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. All subjects were observed for at least 18 months, and an incidence of remission was defined as having no restless legs syndrome symptoms for at least 1 year. Restless legs syndrome severity was evaluated by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale.

A total of 306 patients participated in this study. Over the observation periods of 4.1 ± 1.6 years, the cumulative incidence of remission is 32.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.0-38.0) and decreased with baseline restless legs syndrome severity (P < .001): 60% (95% CI, 44.9-75.1), 44% (95% CI, 34.4-53.6), and 16.7% (95% CI, 10.6-22.8) in mild, moderate, and severe to very severe restless legs syndrome cases, respectively. Most cases of remission (82/96) were observed within 1 year, and the remission occurred sooner for mild restless legs syndrome. The hazard ratios of remission by Cox proportional hazards model were lower for moderate (0.556; 95% CI, 0.340-0.909) and severe to very severe (0.193; 95% CI, 0.108-0.343) restless legs syndrome than for mild restless legs syndrome. The remission incidence was lower for those patients who had a family history of restless legs syndrome and were older at restless legs syndrome diagnosis.

Mild restless legs syndrome severity, no family history, and young age at restless legs syndrome diagnosis were significant predictors of restless legs syndrome remission. More than 80% of patients with severe restless legs syndrome showed a chronic clinical course.