Association of Premenopausal Bilateral Oophorectomy With Restless Legs Syndrome.

Importance Restless legs syndrome is a common neurologic disorder that is more prevalent in women than in men, and it has been suggested that female hormones may be involved in the disorder’s pathophysiology. Objective To determine whether women who underwent premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy were at increased risk of restless legs syndrome. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study was performed using data from the Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and Aging–2 for a population in Olmsted County, Minnesota. There were 1653 women who underwent premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy before the age of 50 years for a benign indication between 1988 and 2007 and 1653 age-matched women (of same age plus or minus 1 year) in a reference group. Follow-up was conducted until the end of the study period (ie, December 31, 2014). Data were analyzed from January to July 2020. Exposures Undergoing bilateral oophorectomy, as shown in medical record documentation. Main Outcomes and Measures Diagnosis of restless legs syndrome, as defined usingDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(Fifth Edition) criteria, was recorded. Results Among 3306 women, the median (interquartile range) age at baseline was 44.0 (40.0-47.0) years. Women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy, compared with women who did not undergo this procedure, had a greater number of chronic conditions at the index date (eg, 300 women [18.1%] vs 171 women [10.3%] with ≥3 chronic conditions; overallP  Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study found that risk of restless legs syndrome was increased among women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy prior to menopause, especially those without a benign ovarian indication.