Restless legs syndrome in migraine patients at an outpatient clinic

Abstract

Aims: The prevalence of Restless legs syndrome (RLS) in migraine patients is estimated to be 8.7-39.0%. In this study, we set out to compare the frequency of RLS in patients diagnosed with migraine with headache free participants. Methods: We included 201 patients with migraine with or without aura and age and gendermatched 102 headache free group from outpatient setting in this cross-sectional study. None of the migraine patients were receiving prophylactic medications that could affect dopamine metabolism. Patients with comorbidities such as kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and polyneuropathy were excluded from this study. The headache free participants had no neurological or systemic disease, no addiction/and no medical treatment. The frequency and severity (with RLS Rating Scale) of RLS was examined in two groups. Results: 40.3% (n=81) of the migraine patients met the diagnostic criteria for RLS than the headaches-free participants (15.7%, n=16) (p