Does frequency of restless legs syndrome and poor sleep quality increase with age in irritable bowel syndrome?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disease which leads to a reduction in the quality of life. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and the incidence of poor sleep quality (PSQ) are known to increase in IBS. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and association of RLS and PSQ in a young population.

A total of 112 IBS patients (46 constipation predominant IBS, 17 diarrhea predominant IBS, 23 mixed IBS and 26 unsubtyped IBS) and 106 healthy controls were included in the study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the 2012 revised diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group were used in the groups.

In the patients with IBS and the control group, the respective results obtained were as follows: presence of PSQ 16 (13.4 %) and 5 (4.7 %) and presence of RLS 10 (8.9 %) and 4 (3.7 %), respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of these values. According to the PSQI, the mean global PSQI scores of patients with IBS and control group were 7.61±3.9 and 4.5±3.7, respectively (P = 0.01). While PSQ was detected in 21 out of 218 participants, RLS was detected in 14. PSQ and RLS coexisted in nine of the participants and all of them were IBS patients.

Previous studies and our study reveal that the frequency of RLS and PSQ increases in IBS. However, this result is a lower rate compared to previous studies. The controlled and prospective studies with larger numbers of cases which demonstrate the real frequency.