Is restless legs syndrome associated with Helicobacter pylori infection?

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in patients with and without helicobacter pylori (HP) detected in pathology. Material and Method: This study was carried out prospectively between January-June 2019 with patients who had dyspeptic complaints and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy. The frequency of RLS was compared between the two groups by applying a questionnaire to patients with and without HP. Results: The study was carried out with 96 patients, 72 HP positive and 24 HP negative. Fifty-two of the patients were women (54%) and 44 were men (46%). The mean age of patients was 44. When the positivity of patients in terms of HP was examined, 1+ HP in 24 patients (25%), 2+ HP in 24 patients (25%) and 3 + HP in 24 patients (25%) were detected. Thirteen patients were diagnosed as RLS with the questionnaires (14%). The average age of these patients was 41. Nine patients were women (69%) and 4 patients were men (31%). Only two of these patients smoked (15%). When patients were classified according to whether they had HP or not, the rate of RLS was 8.3% in patients who were HP negative, while this rate was 12.5% in patients with 1+ HP, 12.5% in patients with 2+ HP and 21% in patients with 3+ HP. Conclusion: In thisstudy, it wasshown that the rate of RLS was 14% in patients with dyspeptic complaints who had endoscopy and the rate of RLS increased with HP severity.