Is Antipsychotic Intake a Risk Factor for the Restless Legs Syndrome?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Restless-legs syndrome (RLS) is known to be caused by dopaminergic hypofunction in the brain. We investigated whether antipsychotics that act as antidopaminergics increase the risk of RLS. METHODS: We prospectively recruited 72 schizophrenic patients who had been medicated with antipsychotic drugs in a psychiatry clinic. We evaluated RLS diagnostic criteria and basic sleep habits using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index by face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. We also applied the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale to evaluate extrapyramidal symptoms. RESULTS: Three of the 72 patients (4.2%) met RLS criteria, which is similar to the previously reported RLS incidence among the general population in Korea. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence that antipsychotics increase the risk of RLS. We believe that the mild antidopaminergic effect of antipsychotics does not overwhelm their prominent antipsychotic effect.