Restless legs syndrome among third-trimester pregnant women attending ANC Clinic in public hospitals in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Restless leg syndrome is uncomfortable sensations in the legs particularly while sleeping or resting at night, causing an urge to move the legs. It is a debilitating illness and has an association with quality of life and maternal and fetal outcome for pregnant women. However, RLS is underdiagnosed and poorly understood by clinicians and the general public. In Ethiopia, there was limited data on restless leg syndrome and its associated factors among pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of restless legs syndrome and associated factors among third-trimester pregnant women receiving ANC care in public hospital in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. METHOD: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November, 2023 to February, 2024. Systematic random sampling method was utilized to identify study participants. Then, an interview with a structured and pretested questionnaire and data extraction from medical charts were done for 422 women. The collected data were coded and entered using EPI DATA, and bi-variable, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done using STATA version 16. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value less than 0.05. RESULT: Four hundred twenty-two eligible third-trimester pregnant women (100% response rate) participated in this study, and the prevalence was identified as 11.61%. Factors such as urban residency (AOR 5.781; 95%95% CI: 1.172, 28.501), gestational age 37 weeks or more (AOR 7.789; 95% CI: 3.027, 20.039), having a history of abortion (AOR 2.381; 95% CI: 1.081, 5.246), taking iron supplementation (AOR 0.267; 95% CI: 0.094, 0.754), and alcohol drinking during pregnancy (AOR 2.289; 95% CI: 1.049, 4.995) were significantly associated with restless legs syndrome in the third trimester of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: One out of ten third-trimester pregnant women had RLS, and living in urban areas, advanced gestational age, history of abortion, iron supplementation, and alcohol drinking have significant associations with RLS. Therefore, it is essential to give attention to RLS during pregnancy and provide support for pregnant women to get the recommended iron supplement and refrain from alcohol.