Restless Legs Syndrome in Children and Adolescents

About 2% meet diagnostic criteria for childhood RLS.

Some studies have suggested that restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects 5% to 10% of adults, and a genetic predisposition to RLS has been documented in several populations (see http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMoa072743.pdf). However, the prevalence in children and adolescents is uncertain. In 1993, the NIH established diagnostic criteria for childhood RLS. Investigators used these criteria to examine the prevalence of RLS in the pediatric population using survey data from 11,582 households recruited randomly from a volunteer market-research panel in the U.K. and the U.S.

The prevalence of definite RLS was 1.9% in children (age, 8–11) and 2.0% in adolescents (age, 12–17). Moderate-to-severe RLS (symptoms twice per week and at least moder…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)