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Restless leg syndrome (RLS), present in 6.4% to 11.2% of American women, has been associated with clinical depression, antidepressant medications, and Parkinson disease, all presumably related via hypodopaminergic mechanisms. However, whether RLS results from or antedates depression, antidepressants, or parkinsonism has been unsettled. In this first-ever prospective, population-based study, researchers analyzed 6 years of data on RLS in 56,399 women (mean age, 68) enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. The women were free of depression and not taking antidepressants.
A total of 928 women reported that they had been diagnosed with RLS. Compared to those without the diagnosis, these women were significantly more likely to be older, to report fr…