Aim: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study to determine prevalence and effect of the Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) on quality of life and sleep quality in menopausal women.
Materials and Metods: Study sample consisted of a total of 615 menopausal women presented to the Menopause Polyclinic, including 256 women with RLS and 359 women without RLS. Data collection instruments included "Personal Information Form", "Restless Legs Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria", "Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale", "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index" (PSQI) and "SF-36 Health-Related Quality of Life Survey". One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used for pre-assessment of data.
Result: Women in the study had a mean age of 53.72±5.92 years. Out of these women, 50.4% had RLS and 46.8% had no RLS. Comparison of groups with RLS and without RLS revealed statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of RLS awareness, diagnosis of RLS in the family and family members with RLS (p<0.05). It was determined that 96.1% of women with RLS and 88% of women without RLS experienced health issues, particularly hot flush, during the menopause. Both groups were compared in terms of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores and it was found out that the group with RLS had statistically significant lower scores in sleep quality, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency and sleep disturbance subscales (p<0.05). Similarly, it was determined that quality of life of women without RLS was better than those with RLS (p<0.05).
Conclusion:There stless legs syndrome is a clinical condition that affects quality of life and sleep quality adversely and it must be considered in differential diagnosis of sleep disorders. Therefore, community-based studies must be conducted on a larger sample to determine its prevalence and it is recommended that nurses must specialize in this condition to take an active role.