RESTLESS legs syndrome is under-diagnosed in children and could be an underlying cause of behavioural and sleep problems, experts say.
A US survey of more than 10,000 families found 1.9% of children aged 8-11 years and 2% of children aged 12-17 years met the criteria for restless legs syndrome, but only 11% of these patients had been previously diagnosed with the condition.
Sleep disturbances and a history of
growing pains
”
were significantly more common in children identified as having restless legs syndrome compared with controls, the data, published in
Pediatrics
(August), showed.
These population-based data suggest that restless legs syndrome is prevalent and troublesome in adolescents, occurring more commonly than epilepsy or diabetes,
”
the authors wrote.
Paediatric sleep physician Dr Arthur Teng said this...
The content on this site is available to Australian Registered Health Practitioners only. Please login or register for access.