Restless legs syndrome in Chinese elderly people of an urban suburb in Shanghai: a community-based survey.

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence rate of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in elderly Chinese people over 50 years of age in an urban suburb of Shanghai by a community-based study.

Methods: A 3-step survey was adopted including two telephone-based interviews and one face-to-face interview. We used questions based on four diagnostic criteria for RLS to perform the first telephone interview. The second telephone interview was performed by a sleep specialist to rule out the 'mimics' and secondary RLS. The final face-to-face interview was performed in the clinic for confirmation and examination.

Results: There were 2609 inhabitants in the Wuli Bridge suburb of Shanghai who responded to the first telephone interview (men 68.55±10.13 years of age and women 65.34±10.52 years of age, mean±SD). Eighteen people were finally diagnosed with RLS. In this sample, the overall prevalence rate of RLS was about 0.69% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41-1.09).

Conclusion: Our study provided the first data about the prevalence rate of RLS in an urban suburb of Shanghai from mainland China, which is consistent with the low prevalence rate reported in other Asian countries.