Restless leg syndrome is a condition that causes an urge to continuously move the legs or arms in order to stop uncomfortable sensations. It is also called as phantom limbs.

The researchers assessed data of 23,119 men ages 56 and 91 years who were involved in a Health Professional Follow-up Study. The data on restless leg syndrome was collected by researchers in 2002 from the men who responded to a follow-up survey.

Some 22,175 men did not have any history of RLS. Furthermore there were 549 who reported five to 14 episodes of the condition in a month, while 395 men reported suffering from 15 or more episodes of RLS per month.

Men who had restless legs syndrome were:
* More likely to be older
* More likely to be smokers
* More likely to be on anti-depressants
* Less likely to exercise

Overall some 52.9% of men who had RLS were suffering from erectile dysfunction as compared with 40.3% of men without RLS. Men who had 15 or more episodes of RLS in a month were 78% more likely to suffer from ED than men without the condition.

“The mechanisms underlying the association between RLS and erectile dysfunction could be caused by hypofunctioning of dopamine in the central nervous system, which is associated with both conditions,” said lead researcher Xiang Gao, a research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

In an earlier study Dr Gao and colleagues have already reported an association between erectile dysfunction and Parkinson's disease. The latter is also a condition where dopamine mechanism is affected.

In the present study the researchers reported no significant association between intake of antidepressants and presence of ED. The details of the study appear in the January issue of Sleep.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 5 percent of 40-year-old men and between 15 and 25 percent of 65-year-old men experience erectile dysfunction at some point in their lives. Conventional treatment includes drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.