The Relationship Between Restless Legs Syndrome and Overactive Bladder: A Cross-Sectional, Controlled Study.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the common mechanisms in restless legs syndrome (RLS) and overactive bladder (OAB), the prevalence of OAB in RLS, and the effects of RLS treatment on OAB.

Methods: Sixty patients newly diagnosed with RLS and 60 healthy individuals in the control group were included in the study. The patients completed the RLS-Severity Rating Scale and were started on pramipexole for treatment. Patients diagnosed with RLS were examined by the same physician for differential diagnosis, and urinalysis, urination diary, and ultrasonography were performed. All patients completed the AAM-V8 form, validated in Turkish, before and after treatment. The treatment effectiveness of the drug on the patients was evaluated using questioning forms.

Results: No statistically significant difference was detected between gender and the average age of the patients and the control group (p = 0.540, p = 0.056). In the evaluation, a statistically higher rate of OAB was detected in the RLS group than in the control group (33.3%-13.3%, p < 0.01) and a positive correlation was observed between the severity of RLS symptoms and OAB-V8 scores. After RLS treatment, a statistically significant improvement was observed in the patients' OAB symptom scores compared to before treatment (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our study revealed that the prevalence of OAB is higher in RLS than in the control group. Dopamine agonists used in the treatment of RLS may be useful as an alternative treatment option in the treatment of OAB, especially in certain patient groups who do not respond to standard treatment.