RESTLESS LEG syndrome (RLS) is an independent predictor of mortality

RLS and Mortality Linked

Jody A. Charnow
October 23, 2007

RESTLESS LEG syndrome (RLS) is an independent predictor of mortality in kidney transplant patients, a study found.

Adrienn Marton, MD, of SemmelweisUniversity in Budapest, and colleagues prospectively collected data on the TransQol-HU cohort to determine if the presence of RLS in kidney transplant patients predicts heightened mortality risk. The prevalence of the syndrome in their sample size of 804 patients was 4.7%. Moreover, iron deficiency was more prevalent in patients with RLS (27%) compared with those without (11%).

Hemoglobin and albumin levels were approximately the same in both groups, as was the estimated glomerular filtration rate (42 and 50 mL/min/1.73m2 for those with and without RLS, respectively).

The major difference between those with and without RLS was in mortality risk: 26% of RLS patients had died after four years of follow-up compared with 11% of patients without RLS, a significant difference between groups, according to the researchers. After adjusting for potential confounders, RLS was associated with a twofold increased risk of mortality.

“No prospective study to date has demonstrated an association between the presence of the RLS and mortality in [this patient population,]” the authors wrote.

Now that RLS has been identified as an independent risk factor for mortality in kidney transplant recipients, “treatment of the syndrome may influence survival,” the investigators added.
From the October 2007 Issue of Renal And Urology News

http://www.renalandurologynews.com/RLS-and-Mortality-Linked/article/58178/