Prevalence and features associated with restless leg syndrome in postmenopausal females [Postmenopozal dönemdeki kadınlarda restless legs sendromunun prevalansı ve ilişkili özellikler]

Background: animal and human studies have shown that estrogen modulates dopaminergic activity. the hypoestrogenic state associated with menopause,characterized by a decreased ovarian follicular response to gonadotropins and estrogen,affects the nervous system at multiple anatomical or functional sites.aims: we investigated the prevalence of restless leg syndrome (rls) in postmenopausal females and assessed the relationship between rls and the clinical features of menopause.methods: we enrolled 523 menopausal females in the study. of those,334 (63.86%) did not meet the inclusion criteria and were excluded. of the remaining 189 postmenopausal patients,73 met all of the diagnostic criteria for rls; however,47 of those had at least one factor related to secondary rls and were excluded from the study. the remaining 26 (18.3%) postmenopausal patients with idiopathic rls were categorized as group 1. the control group included 56 postmenopausal females free of rls and matched by age (+2 years) to group 1.results: onset age of menopause was earlier and surgical menopause was more frequent in group 1. the pearson's correlation test revealed a strong and significant correlation between the onset ages of menopause and rsl.conclusions: estrogen receptors are widely distributed throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. estrogen modulates dopaminergic activity in the nigrostriatal system. menopause is characterized by hypoestrogenemia,and may be a risk factor for the development or worsening of rls symptoms. © 2014 ege university press. all rights reserved.