Increased risk of suicide in patients with restless leg syndrome: A team of researchers from China and the USA warns about this. Restless leg syndrome is a neurological disorder in which patients experience unpleasant sensations such as tingling, itching and pain in the leg muscles when relaxing. This leads to an often involuntary and unconscious urge to move. Because only if those affected move can they alleviate the symptoms. The consequences are not only physical exhaustion, but also psychological suffering.
Increased risk of suicide: Patients with restless leg syndrome suffer from sleep disorders
Patients with RLS have an urge to move that they cannot suppress. It only occurs when the body relaxes, i.e. when lying, sitting or standing, and improves with movement. The symptoms get worse in the evening and at nightto sleep disorderscan lead. The patients themselves are not aware that they move involuntarily after falling asleep and that this causes them to almost wake up again and again during the night. The changes in sleep behavior can permanently disrupt the sleep cycle and affect night sleep. Physical exhaustion leads to constant tiredness and reduces daytime performance. Some people can tolerate the disease to some extent, others suffer severely from it. A new study proves that it is precisely this inability to calm down that can cause mental health problems. An increased risk of suicide was found in almost all patients studied.
Without treatment, the chronic disease is life-threatening
For many, the disease may sound like a simple inconvenience. Even the families of those affected cannot always empathize with the situation. In fact, the disease can significantly affect the quality of life and lead to severe depression, which in turn can be life-threatening. In addition, kidney failure or diabetes can trigger restless leg syndrome. An increased risk of suicide is therefore associated with all three diseases.
Treatment can alleviate the symptoms, but making a diagnosis proves to be problematic in many cases. The reason for this is very simple: those affected cannot always make a connection between the crawling feelings and fatigue and therefore do not inform the doctor about it.
