Periodic limb movements during sleep, restless legs syndrome, and cognitive changes in older adults: a population-based longitudinal study
High PLMS frequency was independently associated with accelerated deterioration in executive function, suggesting a link between PLMS and cognitive aging. In contrast, RLS symptoms showed no association with changes in cognitive function. Statement of Significance This study suggests that periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) may be related to early cognitive vulnerability and could represent an early marker of accelerated cognitive aging. A higher frequency of PLMS was associated with a steeper deterioration in executive function over about 5 years in community-dwelling older adults, independent of restless legs syndrome symptoms, other sleep conditions, and relevant clinical factors. These findings highlight the need for future research to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms linking PLMS to accelerated cognitive aging, and to determine whether reducing PLMS could help preserve cognitive health, or whether PLMS primarily represent a marker rather than a direct contributor to cognitive deterioration.
Authors
- Bogdan Draganski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-5919)
- Marie‐Pierre F. Strippoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3053-484X)
- Martin Preisig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5689-4259)
- Giorgio Pistis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4525-4608)
- Pedro Marques‐Vidal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4548-8500)
- José Haba‐Rubio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7466-6436)
- Raphael C. Heinzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3215-7788)
- Armin von Gunten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7852-3803)
- Zoltán Kutalik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8285-7523)
- Théo Imler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7105-1161)
- Nicola Andrea Marchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7809-4399)
- Geoffroy Solelhac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-133X)
- Péter Vollenweider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0765-896X)
- Isabel Ericson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7637-7555)
Institutions
- University of Bern (CH)
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (CH)
- University Hospital of Bern (CH)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
- Primary Health Care (QA)
- University of Lausanne (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- SLEEP
- Published
- 2025-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf327
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Restless Legs Syndrome Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.71