Restless leg syndrome common in ankylosing spondylitis

(HealthDay)—Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), according to a study published recently in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.

Aslan Tekatas, M.D., and Omer N. Pamuk, M.D., from the Trakya University Medical Faculty in Edirne, Turkey, examined the prevalence of RLS in patients with AS. Data were included for 130 patients diagnosed with AS according to modified New York criteria, as well as 91 age- and sex-matched controls. The authors examined factors associated with RLS.

The researchers found that RLS was significantly more common in patients with AS compared with healthy controls (30.8 versus 13.2 percent). Peripheral arthritis, uveitis, anemia, smoking, and polyneuropathy were significantly higher in AS patients with RLS than in AS patients without RLS.

"In conclusion, our findings indicate that RLS is commonly associated with AS," the authors write. "Possible causes include iron deficiency anemia, smoking and small fiber neuropathy."