United States: A recent study estimates that 4-29 percent of adults in Western industrialized nations experience restless legs syndrome.
It is a disorder that not many people can be able to identify on their own, and most physicians are unfamiliar with how to handle it appropriately, said Dzienkowski, a nurse and the executive director of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
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According to Dr. John Winkelman, chief of the sleep disorders clinical research program at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, “Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by a need to move that is oftentimes associated with an uncomfortable feeling,” CNN Health reported.
The unpleasant sensation has been variously referred to as crawling, aching, tingling, or throbbing and usually affects the legs and occasionally the arms, he further added.
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The restlessness that often occurs when the individuals having the condition are seated or lying down is alleviated by motion, Winkelman said.
The symptoms tend to appear when an individual is resting, usually at night, and since the syndrome disturbs sleep, it is considered a sleep disorder, Winkelman said.
Moderate to severe cases occur several times a week, and in extreme cases, the symptoms can postpone sleep by several hours, said Dr. Brian Koo, an associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine and the director of the Yale Center for Restless Legs Syndrome.
There are two powerful factors that contribute to who develops restless legs syndrome: genetics and iron levels.
The restless legs syndrome is frequently hereditary, and genetic markers constitute approximately 20 percent of the prediction of who will develop it, Winkelman said.
Iron-deficient individuals also have a greater probability of developing restless legs syndrome; this affects pregnant women, dialysis patients, menstruating women, individuals with anemia, and vegetarians, Winkelman said.
He noted that people taking antidepressants of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor type are also susceptible to the restless legs syndrome. Simple sugars, alcohol, and other medications can contribute to symptoms, Koo said, as CNN Health reported.
When iron is low, or even borderline low, oral iron supplements or intravenous iron infusions can improve it, Winkelman added.