According to recent research, a significant proportion of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) had restless leg syndrome...
According to recent research, a significant proportion of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) had restless leg syndrome (RLS) due to a sleep disorder compared to a control group.
The data also showed that RLS reduced sleep quality in IPF patients.
The study " Restless Leg Syndrome: A New Comorbidity in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis " was published in the journal Respiratory Medicine .
Although IPF primarily affects the lungs, several comorbidities or comorbidities associated with the disease are known.
In previous studies, sleep apnea , nighttime hypoventilation, and disturbed sleep architectures were reported in patients with IPF and conditions such as poor sleep quality and causes identified in these patients.
RLS is a neurological disorder that is defined by the need to move the legs. It is considered a sleep disorder because the impulses occur mainly at night and can be triggered when trying to sleep.
Researchers at the agnostic Policlinico Gemelli University of Fondazione IRCCS in Rome, Italy, reported that several REIT patients disclosures , one to have poor quality sleep and having to move the legs at night. They therefore examined whether the RLS was also an IPF comorbidity.
"The prevalence of RLS in IPF is unknown, and the same is true if it can present significant comorbidity in these patients," the researchers wrote.
The team compared data from 50 IPF patients (mean age 72 years) registered at their clinic for interstitial lung disease (PPE) with data from a control group of 283 people (mean age 69.1 years) related to the disorder center . sleep in the same hospital.
Patients at the Sleep Disorder Center were selected for a control group because detailed information about their clinical sleep conditions and quality was available. These patients were compared with the IPF group by age and gender.
To determine the prevalence of RLS in each group, a validated list of five RLS criteria was used to diagnose RLS. All RLS diagnoses in IPF patients were confirmed by a sleep specialist.
The results showed that 12 of the 50 IPF patients (24%) had a confirmed clinical diagnosis of RLS. In the control group, RLS was diagnosed in 31 of 283 people (10.9%).
"Therefore, the prevalence of RLS in IPF patients was about 2.5 times higher than controls," the researchers wrote.
According to the severity rating scale of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) is RLS in patients with IPF of moderate severity.
The researchers also found that IPF patients with RLS had significantly reduced sleep quality compared to IPF patients without RLS. This was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) rating system, a self-rated questionnaire in which a higher rating indicates poor sleep quality and a rating of 5 or more is considered poor sleep quality. .
The researchers found that the majority of all IPF patients (76%) in the study had poor sleep quality. They also found that the group of IPF patients with RLS had significantly higher values (mean 10.6) compared to IPF patients without RLS (mean 6.9).
"Our results provide the first evidence that RLS is a common comorbidity in IPF and is compatible with further deterioration in sleep quality in these patients," the researchers wrote.
The team found that the study was limited to a small number of patients, so the results need to be confirmed in a larger population.
However, the study suggests that RLS is common in people with IPF and suggests that "treating RLS in IPF patients can improve the quality of sleep, and therefore the quality, of life". the researchers concluded.
