Women with premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy at increased RLS risk: JAMA

Key findings of the study include:

• 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), were more likely to have obesity (576 women [34.8%] vs 442 women [27.1%]), and were more likely to have a history of anemia of any type (573 women [34.7%] vs 225 women [13.6%]), iron deficiency anemia (347 women [21.0%] vs 135 women [8.2%]), and restless legs syndrome before the index date (32 women [1.9%] vs 14 women [0.8%]).
• Women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy prior to natural menopause had a higher risk of restless legs syndrome after the index date compared with women in the reference group (120 diagnoses vs 74 diagnoses), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.44.
• After stratification by indication for the bilateral oophorectomy, there was an increased risk of restless legs syndrome among women without a benign ovarian condition (HR, 1.52) but not among women with a benign condition (HR, 1.25).
• Treatment with estrogen therapy through the age of 46 years in women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy at younger ages was not associated with a difference in risk.