Journal article
Periodic limb movements in sleep during pregnancy: a common but benign disorder?
DL Wilson, SP Walker, AM Fung, FJ O’Donoghue, M Barnes, ME Howard
Sleep and Biological Rhythms | SPRINGER LONDON LTD | Published : 2018
Abstract
Pregnant women have a two- to threefold increased prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) compared to the general population, and the majority of RLS patients also experience periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). PLMS have been associated with sleep disturbance as well as autonomic heart rate and blood pressure responses; however, the prevalence, cause and significance of PLMS during pregnancy remain unknown. This study evaluated the presence of PLMS in late pregnancy and its relationship to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Ninety-one women in the third trimester of pregnancy underwent overnight polysomnography. An RLS questionnaire and the Multivariate Apnea Risk Index were admini..
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Awarded by ResMed Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the staff at the antenatal clinics at Mercy Hospital for Women and the Sleep Laboratory at Austin Health for their support of this project. In particular, thank you to Gabrielle Pell for assisting with participant recruitment and Pavlina Toman for polysomnograph analysis. We appreciate the valuable contribution made by each of the research participants. This research was supported by the Austin Medical Research Foundation, the Institute for Breathing and Sleep, the Australian Stillbirth Alliance, and the Medical Research Foundation for Women and Babies. Author D. Wilson was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) postgraduate scholarship.