Abstract:
The study was conducted to examine the effect of restless legs syndrome (RLS) on sleep and quality of life during pregnancy. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional and case-control study with a total of 76 pregnant women, 38 with RLS during pregnancy and 38 without RLS during pregnancy. Research data were collected using; the Restless Leg Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria Questionnaire, Individual Description Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Quality of Life Scale. Obtained data were evaluated using chi-square and t test. Groups were found to be similar in terms of socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics. Statistically significant difference was found between the case and control groups in terms of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index subscale and total scale (case group: 10.15 ± 3.51, control group: 5.12 ± 3.21); the case group was determined to have worse sleep quality than the control group. In addition, the mean scores of the quality of life scale sub-dimensions of the pregnant women in the case group were found to be statistically significantly lower than the control group. In this study, it was concluded that both the sleep and the quality of life levels of pregnant women with RLS were lower than those without RLS.
