Trial reportJournal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine2019
Does Improvement of Low Serum Ferritin Improve Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome in a Cohort of Pediatric Patients?
Trial report in Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Review
- Restless legs syndrome: abbreviated guidelines by the German sleep society and the German neurological society.Neurological research and practice · 2024Article
- Intravenous iron therapy alleviates symptoms of sleep-related movement disorders in children with minimal side effects.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2022Article
- Intravenous iron therapy in the pediatric sleep clinic: a single institution experience.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2022Article
- Restless Sleep Disorder (RSD): a New Sleep Disorder in Children. A Rapid Review.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
- Article
- Management of sleep disorders among children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: A practical guide for clinicians.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2022Review
- Rethinking bedtime resistance in children with autism: is restless legs syndrome to blame?Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2020Article
- Tools for the Assessment of Pediatric Restless Legs Syndrome.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Review
- Serum Ferritin in the Pediatric Sleep Clinic: What's Normal Anyway?Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesTo determine whether an oral iron supplement improves restless leg/restless sleep symptoms in a pediatric population.
methodsIn a cohort study, 47 patients (age 5-18 years) exhibiting restless legs/restless sleep symptoms and low serum ferritin levels (< 50 ng/mL) were given a daily oral iron supplement (ferrous sulfate + vitamin C) and re-evaluated 8 weeks later. A diagnosis of definite Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) was determined based on criteria established by the International RLS Study Group. Using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Spearman rho, the change and association between the measures of Pediatric Restless Legs Syndrome Severity Scale and serum ferritin levels were also examined.
resultsOverall, the median change and distribution of ferritin was statistically significantly different after 8 weeks of treatment (40.0 versus 23.0 ng/mL, P < .0001). Median RLS score was also statistically significantly lower from baseline to follow-up (4.0 versus 6.0, P = .0283). Sixteen patients met criteria for definite RLS; however, the change in RLS score was not determined to be significant in our population (9.5 versus 7.0, P = .0558), despite significant change in ferritin (25.0 versus 42.5 ng/mL, P < .0001). In addition, no correlation was observed between change in RLS score and ferritin level (rho = -.39, P = .1362).
conclusionsIn preliminary findings, we found a modest, yet nonsignificant improvement in children exhibiting restless sleep and RLS symptomatology, despite significant improvement in ferritin levels. Though not statistically significant, the findings can lend to the suggested benefit of iron supplementation in patients with RLS; however, clinical judgment and further research is necessary. CITATION: Rosen GM, Morrissette S, Larson A, Stading P, Barnes TL. Does improvement of low serum ferritin improve symptoms of restless legs syndrome in a cohort of pediatric patients? J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(8):1149-1154.
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