Restless legs syndrome severity in the National RLS Opioid Registry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective/backgroundNo research has yet assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on restless legs syndrome (RLS). We hypothesized that RLS symptom severity would be increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of patients with diagnosed RLS. Patients/methodsThe National RLS Opioid Registry is a longitudinal observational study of patients using opioid medications for treatment of RLS. Questionnaires assessing RLS symptom severity, medication dosages, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety are administered at baseline and at recurring 6-month surveys. Survey responses from the outset of the pandemic in April/May 2020 were compared to responses completed by other participants in January/February 2020 (between-subjects analysis), as well as responses by the same participants at baseline, approximately six months later in September 2020 through February 2021, and approximately one year later in March through June 2021 (within-subjects analyses). ResultsThese analyses provide evidence for higher RLS symptom severity scores at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Symptom severity scores were still elevated on subsequent questionnaires completed over six months into the pandemic but had returned towards baseline by the spring of 2021. Participants with increases in RLS severity were significantly more likely than others to see increases in sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety. ConclusionsThis is the first study demonstrating increased RLS symptom severity during the earliest stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings warrant similar investigations in other patient populations and suggest that clinicians should attend to RLS symptoms during times of socioeconomic and/or political uncertainty.