An evaluation of sleep quality and the prevalence of restless leg syndrome in vitamin D deficiency

Abstract

Vitamin D is known to increase levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the brain and also protects dopaminergic neurons against dopaminergic toxins. The aims of the study were to assess the frequency and symptom severity of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and sleep quality in vitamin D deficiency. A total of 102 patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, comprising 57 vitamin D deficient patients as Group 1 and 45 patients with normal levels of vitamin D as Group 2. RLS was diagnosed according to the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) diagnostic criteria. Symptom severity was assessed using the IRLSSG rating scale and sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). RLS incidence was higher in Group 1 (p = 0.034). The PSQI scores were higher in Group 1 and the difference between the groups was determined as statistically significant (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was determined in respect of the clinical evaluation and the IRLSSG Symptom Severity Scale between the patients in Group 1 diagnosed with RLS and the patients in Group 2 diagnosed with RLS (p > 0.05). The findings of this study support the hypothesis that RLS is more frequent and more severe in vitamin D deficiency and indicate a negative effect of vitamin deficiency on sleep parameters.

Keywords: Leg pain; Restless leg syndrome; Sleep quality; Vitamin D.