Restless legs syndrome nearly triples the risk of suicide and self-harm

Restless legs syndrome nearly triples the risk of suicide and self-harm, a study has discovered.

The condition, which is also known as RLS or Willis-Ekbon Disease, brings an overwhelming need to move or tap the legs, particularly at night, and often an unpleasant crawling or creeping sensation in the feet, calves and thighs.

It affects 7.2 per cent of the population, according to the charity RLS-UK, and can prevent sleeping and everyday activities.

But until now experts thought it was a purely physical condition. New research by Penn State University in the US suggests that it may be linked to mental health too.

Researchers looked at health records of nearly 170,000 people between 2006 and 2016, of which 24,179 suffered from restless leg syndrome.

None of the participants had attempted suicide or harmed themselves when the study began, but scientists found that those with RSL were 2.7 times more likely to have self-harmed or tried to kill themselves by the end of the research period.

“Our study suggests that restless legs syndrome isn't just connected to physical conditions, but to mental health, as well,” said Dr Xiang Gao, associate professor of nutritional sciences and director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Lab at Penn State.

“And, with RLS being under-diagnosed and suicide rates rising, this connection is going to be more and more important. Clinicians may want to be careful when they're screening patients both for RLS and suicide risk.”

The current suicide rate in Britain is around 10 people in 100,000 although rises higher for young men, to around 15 in 100,000.  The new study suggests that for people with RLS, the risk could rise to 27 in 10,0000.

The extra risk remained even when the researchers controlled for other conditions such as depression, insomnia and diabetes which are known to increase the risk of suicide and self harm.

“After controlling for these factors, we still didn't see the association decrease, meaning RLS could still be an independent variable contributing to suicide and self-harm,” added Dr Muzi Na, Broadhurst Career Development Professor for the Study of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Penn State.

“We still don't know the exact reason, but our results can help shape future research to learn more about the mechanism.”

Previous research has found an association between RLS and iron deficiency, as well as low levels of dopamine in the brain, a chemical which plays a crucial role in pleasure, pain, emotions, movement and motivation.

RLS has also linked with a higher chance of mortality in the past, although scientists do not know why.

The research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) Network Open.