Prevalence and Significance of Restless Legs Syndrome in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

• Published in: The American journal of cardiology Vol. 123; no. 10; pp. 1580 - 1586
• Main Authors: Yatsu, Shoichiro, Kasai, Takatoshi, Suda, Shoko, Matsumoto, Hiroki, Ishiwata, Sayaki, Shiroshita, Nanako, Kato, Mitsue, Kawana, Fusae, Murata, Azusa, Shimizu, Megumi, Shitara, Jun, Kato, Takao, Hiki, Masaru, Sai, Eiryu, Miyauchi, Katsumi, Daida, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.05.2019; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Acute coronary syndromes; Age; Aged; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiovascular disease; Cholesterol; Coronary artery; Coronary artery disease; Coronary Artery Disease - complications; Coronary vessels; Diabetes; Female; Heart diseases; Heart rate; Hemoglobin; Humans; Hypertension; Japan - epidemiology; Kidney diseases; Leg; Legs; Lipoproteins; Male; Patients; Peptides; Potassium; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Quality assessment; Quality of Life; Regression analysis; Restless legs syndrome; Restless Legs Syndrome - diagnosis; Restless Legs Syndrome - epidemiology; Restless Legs Syndrome - etiology; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep; Sleep - physiology; Sleep and wakefulness; Sleep deprivation; Sleepiness; Surveys and Questionnaires; Japan
• ISSN: 0002-9149; 1879-1913
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2019.02.017

Restless legs syndrome (RLS), characterized by leg restlessness and dysesthesia predominantly at night and at rest, disrupts sleep and quality of life. The reported prevalence of RLS is 2% to 5%. Although a relation between RLS and coronary artery disease has been suggested, the prevalence and clinical significance of RLS in coronary artery disease patients remain unknown. We enrolled coronary artery disease patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients with RLS were identified according to international criteria. Subjective sleepiness, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life were assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Short Form-8, respectively. Among 326 patients with coronary artery disease, 26 (8.0%) had RLS. There were no significant differences in characteristics between patients with and without RLS. Sleep quality and quality of life were more disrupted in patients with RLS (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score, 7.4 ± 2.4 vs 5.6 ± 2.5, p <0.001; physical component summary and mental component summary scores of Short Form-8, 39.6 ± 1.8 vs 43.5 ± 0.5, p = 0.042 and 45.2 ± 8.4 vs 48.4 ± 7.4, p = 0.037, respectively), despite no significant difference in Epworth Sleepiness Scale score (8.2 ± 5.1 vs 7.1 ± 4.8, p = 0.293). In multiple linear regression analyses, RLS was independently associated with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (β = 0.174, p <0.001), physical component summary (β = −0.127, p = 0.029), and mental component summary (β = −0.113, p = 0.042) scores. In conclusion, in patients with coronary artery disease, the prevalence of RLS was relatively high compared to that reported in the general population. The presence of RLS was associated with disrupted sleep quality and health-related quality of life in coronary artery disease patients.