Investigate prevalance of Restless Leg Syndrome with Sleep Apnoea
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Case series study of the prevalence of restless leg syndrome with periodic leg movement in patients referred for sleep studies into secondary care for suspected obstructive sleep apnoea
IRAS ID
111200
Contact name
Helen Rushforth
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is recognised as a significant health problem in developed countries (Salter et al 2012). The number affected is considered to be as high as 18% of the UK population suffering with EDS with main causes either poor quality sleep or reduced sleep (Salter et al 2012).
EDS is associated with poor performance, reduced quality of life, increase risk of road traffic accidents, frequent napping or sleeping during the daytime and personality changes. EDS in itself is not a disorder or diagnosis but a symptom of an underlying problem (Shneerson 2000). It is however important to distinguish between people who have fatigue (feeling exhausted but not necessary sleepy) and EDS.
Presentation of EDS in primary care is common (Slater et al 2012) and its cause often not diagnosed or misdiagnosed due to the many possible contributing factors. In the clinical setting two of the most common disorders associated with EDS are
A) Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or
B) The related conditions of periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) and restless leg syndrome (RLS).Both OSA and PLMD/RLS cause sleep fragmentation due to micro arousals from sleep and therefore symptoms of EDS (Sheerson 2000). However management of both disorders is different with guidelines suggesting that RLS/PLMD be managed within primary care by the GP (IRLSSG 2003) whereas OSA is managed in secondary care by specialist sleep units (NICE 2008).
The patient group referred for OSA screening is therefore the focus of the research, which aims to explore whether some of the patients referred to secondary care for specialist investigation for OSA and found to have a negative result are in fact patients with PLMD/RLS which is not being considered or investigated by their GP. Treatment of EDS should always focus on the underlying cause or diagnosis (Salter et al 2012) therefore making a correct diagnosis is the priority. Obtaining the correct diagnosis in the correct setting may reduce referrals, investigations and decrease waiting times for appropriate patients.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1147
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion