Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease and Pregnancy.

Prosperetti C; Manconi M

doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2015.05.016

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Journal article

Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease and Pregnancy.

Prosperetti C Sleep Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital of Lugano, Via Tesserete 46, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.
Manconi M Sleep Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital of Lugano, Via Tesserete 46, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland. Electronic address: mauro.manconi@eoc.ch.

2015-09-03

Published in:

Sleep medicine clinics. - 2015

English Restless legs syndrome (RLS)/Willis-Ekbom disease is 3-fold more prevalent in pregnant than in non-pregnant women. Symptoms are particularly strong and frequent during the third trimester of pregnancy and disappear around delivery. A pre-existing form of RLS tends to worsen during pregnancy. Women who experience RLS during pregnancy have a higher risk of symptoms in further pregnancies and of developing a primary form of RLS later in life, than women free of symptoms during pregnancy. This article reviews the literature for pregnancy-related RLS, with particular attention to its epidemiology, course, possible mechanisms, management, and the impact of symptoms.

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