Introduction: Pregnancy has been associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS). RLS is underdiagnosed in most countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of RLS among Saudi pregnant women.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 459 pregnant women from all Saudi provinces between December 2022 and March 2023. A structured online questionnaire assessing demographic and pregnancy characteristics, medical conditions, sleep quality, and RLS symptoms was conducted.
Results: The prevalence of RLS was 26.6% among the participants. Calcium deficiency was significantly associated with RLS (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=2.16, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2-3.9, p=0.01), but there was no significant association between RLS and vitamin D and iron deficiencies (p>0.05), according to multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Moreover, RLS increased the risk of insomnia and frequent waking up (adjusted OR=4.95, 95% CI=2.50-9.83, p<0.001, and adjusted OR=2.87, 95% CI=1.55-5.32, p=0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: RLS is common among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. The study indicates that RLS during pregnancy is linked to calcium deficiency and negatively affects sleep quality.
Keywords: pregnancy; prevalence; restless legs syndrome; risk factors; saudi arabia.
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