Hochang Benjamin Lee, MD

Mental illness accounts for a third of all years lived with disability and is associated with twice the relative risk of all-cause mortality. An estimated 8 million deaths are attributable to mental disorders every year, with two-thirds due to comorbid medical illness.

Depression is a frequent psychiatric comorbidity among patients with restless leg syndrome. The case presented here illustrates the importance of evaluating for RLS symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder who complain of insomnia.

Discussing the Neuropsychiatric Outcomes After Heart Surgery study, testing the vascular hypothesis of post-coronary artery bypass graft depression.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurosensory disorder first described by Sir Thomas Willis in 1672. As early as the 19th century, Theodor Wittmaack observed the comorbidity of RLS with depression and anxiety. He termed this condition “anxietas tibiarum” and believed it to be a form of hysteria.