Evaluation of emotional dysregulation in patients with restless legs syndrome

The aim of this study is to examine patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) in terms of difficulty in emotion regulation and insomnia. A total of 52 patients with RLS and 57 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form (DERS-16), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and International Restless Legs Syndrome rating scale were applied to participants. The mean age was 34.00 ± 8.27 years in patients and 31.70 ± 9.12 years in control. The scores of DERS-16, ISI, HADS-A, and HADS-D were significantly higher in the patients than the controls (p = 0.000). The DERS-16 total score showed a significant correlation with age (r = 0.404, p = 0.003), ISI (r = 0.281, p = 0.043), IRLS score (r = 0.422, p = 0.002), HADS-A (r = 0.409, p = 0.003), and HADS-D (r = 0.416, p = 0.002). The factors (age, gender, ferritin, ISI, and IRLS scores) that may be associated with the DERS-16 total scores were assessed with stepwise regression analysis. It was seen that the IRLSs variable had the most ability and could predict 45% (β = 0.625, p < 0.001, ∆R2 = 0.450) of difficulty in emotion regulation. In addition, the variable of insomnia could predict difficulty in emotion regulation by 17% (β = 0.097, p = 0.001, ∆R2 = 0.170). Patients with RLS may experience more emotion regulation difficulties than healthy controls. RLS severity and insomnia may be factors affecting emotion regulation difficulties in patients with RLS. According to our knowledge and our literature review, this finding seems to be the first report in the literature.