Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Germany.
Sleep Med. 2011 Oct;12(9):815-20. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2011.06.016.
Prospective data about the new-onset of restless legs syndrome (RLS) are lacking. Our aim was to assess the incidence rate of RLS in the general population.
RLS, defined by the minimal diagnostic criteria, was assessed twice in two independently conducted prospective population-based cohort studies in Germany. The Dortmund Health Study (DHS) had a mean follow-up of 2.2 years, and included 1312 participants, and the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) followed 4308 participants for, on average, 5.2 years. RLS was assessed during face-to-face interviews in both studies at baseline and at follow-up in SHIP, and with mailed questionnaires at follow-up in DHS.
The age-standardized incidence rate of RLS was 22/1000 person-years (p-y) (cumulative incidence over the follow-up: 9.1%) in DHS and 9/1000 p-y (cumulative incidence: 7.0%) in SHIP. Women had a higher incidence rate than men (DHS: 27/1000 p-y vs. 17/1000 p-y, p=0.28; SHIP: 12/1000 p-y vs. 7/1000 p-y, p<0.001). There was a linear increase in RLS incidence rate with age in both studies. The persistence of RLS symptoms from baseline to follow-up was 47.4% in DHS and 41.5% in SHIP.
The incidence rate of RLS is high, while the persistence of RLS over time is low, suggesting that RLS symptoms vary considerably. The increased RLS incidence rate among women and the elderly is consistent with previous prevalence data.
缺乏关于不安腿综合征（RLS）新发病例的前瞻性数据。我们的目的是评估普通人群中 RLS 的发病率。
通过最小诊断标准定义 RLS，在德国进行的两项独立前瞻性基于人群的队列研究中进行了两次评估。多特蒙德健康研究（DHS）的平均随访时间为 2.2 年，纳入了 1312 名参与者；而波罗的海健康研究（SHIP）平均随访了 4308 名参与者，随访时间为 5.2 年。在两项研究中，均在基线时进行面对面访谈评估 RLS，在 SHIP 中在随访时进行面对面访谈，在 DHS 中在随访时进行邮寄问卷评估。
DHS 中 RLS 的年龄标准化发病率为 22/1000 人年（p-y）（随访期间的累积发病率：9.1%），SHIP 中为 9/1000 p-y（累积发病率：7.0%）。女性的发病率高于男性（DHS：27/1000 p-y 比 17/1000 p-y，p=0.28；SHIP：12/1000 p-y 比 7/1000 p-y，p<0.001）。两项研究中，RLS 发病率均随年龄呈线性增加。DHS 中 RLS 症状从基线到随访的持续时间为 47.4%，SHIP 中为 41.5%。
RLS 的发病率较高，而 RLS 症状随时间的持续性较低，表明 RLS 症状变化较大。女性和老年人 RLS 发病率增加与以往的患病率数据一致。
