Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Detection and Management in Primary Care

24-12. Reduce the proportion of vehicular crashes caused by persons with excessive sleepiness.

Detect and Treat Sleep Disorders

Increase the percentage of patients who have their sleep disorders detected and who implement lifestyle and/or pharmacologic intervention and successfully manage their sleep disorders.

To increase awareness of RLS by disseminating the booklet, “Restless Legs Syndrome: Detection and Management in Primary Care,” to primary care physicians, using a variety of channels and partners.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a distinctive but often misdiagnosed sensory-motor disorder. Its features include discomfort in the limbs that compel the person to move in order to relieve the sensations, which occur when the afflicted individual is at rest, primarily in the evening and at night. Individuals with RLS have a sleep-onset difficulty because lying down and trying to relax activates their symptoms. In addition to experiencing a prolonged sleep onset, they also may have difficulty maintaining sleep. In severe cases, individuals may sleep only a few hours per night, and extreme daytime sleepiness can result. It is believed that 2-15 percent of the population may experience RLS symptoms. RLS often goes undiagnosed, partly because primary care physicians are not aware of the condition. RLS typically is not included in medical school curricula.

To increase awareness among physicians about RLS, the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR) convened a working group of sleep and neurology experts to examine the science of RLS and to develop a booklet for primary care physicians on the recognition and treatment of RLS. The booklet is now available for downloading from the NCSDR Web site, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/ncsdr. In addition, the information will be published as an article in the American Family Physician journal of the American Academy of Family Practitioners in July 2000.