Patient-Reported Prevalence, Characteristics, and Impact of Leg Cramps in an Urban Primary Care Clinic

Birgit Khandalavala; Jenenne Geske; Jacob Klein

doi:10.1370/afm.3013

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Table 1.

Description of Sample

	Do You Have Leg Cramps?
	No (n = 142) Mean (SD)	Yes (n = 152) Mean (SD)	Total (N = 294) Mean (SD)
Age, y, No. (%)	43.7 (17.5)	49.1 (15.9)	46.5 (16.9)
BMI, No. (%)	29.9 (7.8)	33.0 (7.7)	31.5 (7.9)
Gender, No. (%)
Male	47 (35.1)	41 (27.3)	88 (31.0)
Non-pregnant female	85 (63.4)	102 (68.0)	187 (65.8)
Pregnant female	2 (1.5)	7 (4.7)	9 (3.2)
Hispanic/Latino, No. (%)
No	124 (89.9)	140 (4.6)	264 (92.3)
Yes	14 (10.1)	8 (5.4)	22 (7.7)
Race, No. (%)
White	108 (78.3)	96 (64.0)	204 (70.8)
Black	15 (10.9)	41 (27.3)	56 (19.4)
Asian	4 (2.9)	5 (3.3)	9 (3.1)
Native American	1 (0.7)	0 (0)	1 (0.3)
Other	4 (2.9)	1 (0.7)	5 (1.7)
More than 1 race selected	6 (4.3)	7 (4.7)	13 (4.5)
How would you rate your overall health? No. (%)
Excellent	12 (8.5)	3 (2.1)	15 (5.2)
Very good	38 (26.8)	22 (15.1)	60 (20.8)
Good	66 (46.5)	62 (42.5)	128 (44.4)
Fair	22 (15.5)	47 (32.2)	69 (24.0)
Poor	4 (2.8)	12 (8.2)	16 (5.6)

BMI = body mass index.

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Table 2.

Characteristics of Leg Cramps

	Male No. (%)	Non-Pregnant Female No. (%)	Pregnant Female No. (%)	Total^{^a} No. (%)
How often do you get leg cramps? No. times/mo (%)
1-4	21 (53.8)	55 (59.1)	3 (50.0)	79 (57.2)
5-10	11 (28.	16 (17.2)	1 (16.7)	28 (20.3)
10-30	4 (10.3)	15 (16.1)	1 (16.7)	20 (14.5)
Every day	2 (5.1)	4 (4.3)	1 (16.7)	7 (5.1)
>Once a day	1 (2.6)	3 (3.2)	0 (0)	4 (2.9)
How long have you been having leg cramps? No. times/mo (%)
0-6	7 (18.9)	7 (7.6)	4 (57.1)	18 (13.2)
7-12	3 (8.1)	4 (4.3)	0 (0)	7 (5.1)
How long have you been having leg cramps? No. times/y (%)
1-3	7 (18.9)	21 (22.8)	1 (14.3)	29 (21.3)
4-5	5 (13.5)	19 (20.7)	0 (0)	24 (17.6)
5	15 (40.5)	41 (44.6)	2 (28.6)	58 (42.6)
Do your leg cramps occur with exercise? No. (%)
No	23 (62.2)	60 (65.2)	5 (71.4)	88 (64.7)
Yes	14 (37.8)	32 (34.8)	2 (28.6)	48 (35.3)
Do your leg cramps occur when resting? No. (%)
No	5 (13.5)	1 (1.1)	0 (0)	6 (4.4)
Yes	32 (86.5)	92 (98.9)	7 (100.0)	131 (95.6)
Are the leg cramps typically on one or both sides of your body? No. (%)
One side	15 (38.5)	48 (50.0)	2 (28.6)	65 (45.8)
Both sides	24 (61.5)	48 (50.0)	5 (71.4)	77 (54.2)
Location - calves, No. (%)	24 (72.7)	80 (87.0)	5 (100.0)	109 (83.8)
Location - feet, No. (%)	11 (33.3)	57 (62.0)	2 (40.0)	70 (53.8)
Location - thighs, No. (%)	14 (42.4)	20 (21.7)	2 (40.0)	36 (27.7)
Do your cramps get worse during certain seasons of the year? No. (%)
No	23 (69.7)	70 (77.8)	4 (80.0)	97 (75.8)
Yes	10 (30.3)	20 (22.2)	1 (20.0)	31 (24.2)
Summer^{^b}	7 (21.2)	8 (9.0)	0 (0)	15 (11.8)
Fall^{^b}	0 (0)	2 (2.2)	0 (0)	2 (1.6)
Winter^{^b}	3 (9.1)	12 (13.5)	1 (20.0)	16 (12.6)
Spring^{^b}	1 (3.0)	1 (1.1)	0 (0)	2 (1.6)
Frequency of sleep disturbance, No. (%)
Never	6 (17.6)	10 (10.9)	1 (20.0)	17 (13.0)
Seldom	10 (29.4)	30 (32.6)	2 (40.0)	42 (32.1)
Sometimes	15 (44.1)	33 (35.9)	1 (20.0)	49 (37.4)
Often	3 (8.8)	19 (20.7)	1 (20.0)	23 (17.6)
Have you ever fallen because of leg cramps? No. (%)
No	31 (91.2)	79 (85.9)	5 (100.0)	115 (87.8)
Yes	3 (8.8)	13 (14.1)	0 (0)	16 (12.2)
Have you ever discussed your leg cramps with your health care clinician? No. (%)
No	26 (76.5)	63 (68.5)	5 (100.0)	94 (71.8)
Yes	8 (23.5)	29 (31.5)	0 (0)	37 (28.2)
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Severity of leg cramps, mean (SD)^{^c}	5.2 (2.6)	5.8 (2.3)	5.6 (2.0)	5.6 (2.4)
Impact on, mean (SD)^{^d}
Sleep	2.3 (1.4)	2.9 (1.3)	2.8 (1.8)	2.7 (1.4)
Mental health	1.6 (1.2)	1.6 (1.1)	1.6 (0.9)	1.6 (1.1)
Physical health	1.8 (1.3)	1.9 (1.3)	2.0 (1.4)	1.9 (1.3)
Daytime functioning	1.9 (1.5)	2.0 (1.4)	2.6 (1.8)	2.0 (1.4)