Treatment wish of individuals with known and unknown restless legs syndrome in the community

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent sleep disorder with a prevalence of 5 % to 15 % in Caucasion populations. Dopaminergic treatment is known to reduce sensorimotor RLS symptoms and is approved for RLS, but not all patients ask for treatment. About 2 % to 3 % of patients presenting to a primary care physician require RLS-specific treatment. The overall treatment preference of RLS sufferers, however, is still unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and treatment preference in patients with previously diagnosed and those with yet undiagnosed RLS in a population-based survey in Germany. Cross-sectional health survey with face-to-face interviews with 1312 participants in the Dortmund Health Study. RLS was assessed with standardized, validated questions addressing the four minimal diagnostic criteria for RLS defined by the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. Participants were aged 25 to 75 years and were randomly selected from the city register. The overall prevalence of individuals with a known doctor diagnosis of RLS was 2.3 %. In addition, 6.5 % fulfilled the four minimal criteria but did not know about this diagnosis yielding an overall prevalence of 8.8 %. Prevalence was higher in women (10.2 %) and German descendents (9.2 %) compared to men (7.1 %) and migrants (6.7 %). Almost 60 % of all RLS cases reported symptoms at least once a week. 33.3 % of cases with a known RLS diagnosis and 14.1 % with an unknown diagnosis had an RLS treatment wish. The latter is determined by knowledge of the diagnosis, daily symptoms, diabetes and sleep disturbance. About every fourth RLS case knows about the diagnosis and overall every fifth RLS case wishes medication to effectively reduce symptoms, corresponding to 1.6 % of the whole study population.