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High Waist Circumference, Obesity Linked to Increased Risk of RLS

ST. PAUL, Minn -- April 8, 2009 -- A new study shows both obesity and a high waist circumference appear to increase the risk of developing restless legs syndrome (RLS). The study is published in the April 7 print issue of the journal Neurology.

For the study, researchers questioned 65,554 women and 23,119 men, all of whom were health professionals who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study or the Nurses' Health Study II.

None of the participants had diabetes, arthritis or were pregnant. Of the groups, 6.4% of the women and 4.1% of the men were identified as having RLS.

The research found men and women with a body mass index (BMI) score over 30 were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to have RLS than people who were not obese.

In addition, people who were in the top 20% of the group for highest waist circumference were more than 1.5 times more likely to have RLS than the bottom 20% of the group with the lowest waist circumference. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking, use of antidepressants or anxiety.

"These results may be important since obesity is a modifiable risk factor that is becoming increasingly common in the US," said lead author Xiang Gao, MD, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. "More research is needed to confirm whether obesity causes RLS and whether keeping a low BMI score and small waist size could help prevent RLS."

Dr. Gao added that some studies suggest that obese people have lower dopamine receptor levels in the brain. "Since decreased dopamine function is believed to play a critical role in RLS as well, this could be the link between the 2."

SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology

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