• Katharina A Schindlbeck, Janek Becker, Felix Berger, Arne Mehl, Charlotte Rewitzer, Sarah Geffe, Peter M Koch, Jan C Preiß, Britta Siegmund, Jochen Maul, and Frank Marzinzik.
• Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200, Berlin, Germany. KSchindl@northwell.edu.
• Int J Colorectal Dis. 2017 Jan 1; 32 (1): 125-130.

PurposeInflammatory bowel disease has been associated with neurological symptoms including restless legs syndrome. Here, we investigated the impact of restless legs syndrome in patients with inflammatory bowel disease on sleep, fatigue, mood, cognition, and quality of life.MethodsTwo groups of inflammatory bowel disease patients, with and without restless legs syndrome, were prospectively evaluated for sleep disorders, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life. Furthermore, global cognitive function, executive function, attention, and concentration were assessed in both groups. Disease activity and duration of inflammatory bowel disease as well as current medication were assessed by interview. Inflammatory bowel disease patients with and without restless legs syndrome were matched for age, education, severity, and duration of their inflammatory bowel disease.ResultsPatients with inflammatory bowel disease and clinically relevant restless leg syndrome suffered significantly more frequent from sleep disturbances including sleep latency and duration, more fatigue, and worse health-related quality of life as compared to inflammatory bowel disease patients without restless legs syndrome. Affect and cognitive function including cognitive flexibility, attention, and concentration showed no significant differences among groups, indicating to be not related to restless legs syndrome.ConclusionsSleep disorders including longer sleep latency, shorter sleep duration, and fatigue are characteristic symptoms of restless legs syndrome in inflammatory bowel disease patients, resulting in worse health-related quality of life. Therefore, clinicians treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease should be alert for restless legs syndrome.

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