Association of Hemodialysis Inadequacy and Duration with Restless Legs Syndrome: A Cross-sectional Study

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2018-05, Vol.10 (5), p.e2570-e2570
• Main Authors: Ul Abideen, Zain, Mahmud, Syed Nayer, Mushtaq, Fahad, Farooq, Muhammad Umer, Farooq Qasim, Yusaf, Hamid, Zamara, Rasheed, Amna, Zafran, Muhammad, Nabeel Pasha, Muhammad, Pirzada, Faiqa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arthritis; Cross-sectional studies; Data collection; Hemodialysis; Hospitals; Internal Medicine; Iron; Legs; Mortality; Nephrology; Neurology; Patients; Quality of life; Restless legs syndrome; Transplants & implants
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.2570

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder in hemodialysis (HD) patients. It is associated with poor sleep and decreased quality of life. The precipitants for the disorder are still poorly understood. The condition has not been studied extensively in Pakistan, which has a vast majority of end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance HD. We aimed to determine the prevalence of this condition in patients attending HD units of the largest renal dialysis center in Northern Pakistan. We also strived to determine any associations with dialysis inadequacy and the total duration of HD. This was an observational study comprising 279 patients. RLS was diagnosed using the International Restless Leg Syndrome Study Group criteria. Dialysis adequacy was determined using the Urea Reduction Ratio and the Kt/V technique. The prevalence of RLS in this large HD population was 24%. Our results show that a longer duration and greater number of HD sessions were significantly associated with the development of RLS (p