Review Article

Restless Legs Syndrome and Leg Motor Restlessness in Parkinson’s Disease

Table 1

RLS and leg motor restlessness (LMR) in PD.

AuthorYearCountryPD/controlRLS (%)
PD/control
LMR (%) PD/control Characteristics of PD/RLS

Ondo et al. [40]2002USA303/—20.8/—Lower serum ferritin levels. Older age at RLS onset, less frequent family history

Tan et al. [41]2002Singapore125/—0/—15.2/—1 (0.8%) had RLS-like symptoms correlated with wearing off

Krishnan et al. [2]2003India126/1287.9/0.8 Older, higher rate of depression

Braga-Neto et al. [42]2004Brazil86/—49.9/—Longer disease duration of PD

Calzetti et al. [61]2009Italy118/11012.7/6.3 Absence of a comorbid association between RLS and PD

Nomura et al. [3]2006Japan165/13112.1/2.3 Insomnia (PSQI), younger age

Gómez-Esteban et al. [43]2007Spain114/—21.9/—Sleep disturbance (PDSS)

Loo and Tan [44]2008Singapore200/2003.0/0.5 Slightly younger age

Lee et al. [45]2009Korea447/—16.3/—Longer disease duration and dopaminergic treatment, more severe disability, and cognitive decline

Peralta et al. [46]2009Austria113/—24.8/—Younger, earlier onset of PD, lower levodopa-equivalent dosages, and wearing off

Verbaan et al. [47]2010Netherlands269/—11.0/—No increased frequency of RLS in PD patients
RLS severity correlated with PD severity, motor fluctuations, depressive symptoms, daytime sleepiness, cognitive problems, autonomic symptoms, and psychotic symptoms.

Angelini et al. [48]2011Italy109/1165.5/4.3No increased frequency of RLS in drug-naïve PD patients

Gjerstad et al. [11]2011Norway200/17315.5/9.225/8.7Sleep disturbance (PDSS), depressive symptoms

Suzuki et al. [49]2012Japan93/935.5/2.232.3/14.0Higher UPDRS-3 score, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance (PDSS-2), and impaired QOL

Shimohata and Nishizawa [50]2013Japan158/—11.4/—19.0/—Sleep disturbance, daytime sleepiness

Rana et al. [51]2013Canada127/12721.3/4.7Pain was reported at a higher rate

Bhalsing et al. [52]2013India134/17211.9/2.9Sleep disturbance (PDSS)

Shin et al. [53]2013Korea151/—16.6/—Severe disease, tremor

Azmin et al. [54]2013Malaysia113/—9.7/—Younger age of onset of PD, male gender, higher MMSE score, and less advanced HY stage

Rajabally and Martey [55]2013UK37/3716.2/10.840.5/16.2No correlation with neuropathy or symptomatic neuropathy, cumulative levodopa exposure, or serum vitamin B12 levels in patients with PD

Oh et al. [56]2014South Korea225/—16.0/—Supine/nocturnal hypertension

Fereshtehnejad et al. [57] 2015Iran108/42414.8/7.5A higher anxiety score, worse nutritional status, and poorer QOL

The studies assessing untreated PD patients.
HY: Hoehn and Yahr; LMR: leg motor restlessness; MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; PD: Parkinson’s disease; PDSS: Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale; PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; QOL: quality of life; RLS: restless legs syndrome; UPDRS: Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale.