Abstract
Abstract Introduction: The new diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) include the presence of chronic, widespread pain associated with other symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression. All these symptoms should be considered when thinking and clinical decision making of physiotherapists dealing with FM. However, it is clear that the other symptoms that accompany the pain are often neglected. Objective: To measure the levels of fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression in patients with FM and compare them to levels found in healthy controls. Methods: Forty-six women diagnosed with FM and 30 healthy controls participated in the study. The levels of each of the symptoms were assessed by four validated questionnaires in Brazil (Piper Fatigue Scale - Revised, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory). Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism software and all tests used a significance level of 5% (α = 0.05). Results: FM patients had significantly elevated levels of fatigue (p = 0.0005), sleep disturbances (p = 0.003), anxiety (p = 0.0012) and depression (p = 0.0003) compared to healthy controls. Symptoms fatigue and depression correlated strongly and positively with one another and with other symptoms evaluated. Conclusion: The other symptoms that comprise the clinical picture of FM need be considered not only in order to recover the health of patients, but above all in an attempt to preserve it and promote it.
Highlights
The new diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) include the presence of chronic, widespread pain associated with other symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression
Comparing the two groups it was observed that the values found in patients with FM are significantly larger than those found in healthy controls (p = 0.0005) (Figure 1A)
These results indicate that the patients with FM feel more fatigued that those of the healthy controls
Summary
The new diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) include the presence of chronic, widespread pain associated with other symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression. All these symptoms should be considered when thinking and clinical decision making of physiotherapists dealing with FM. The first criteria of FM diagnosis were published in 1990 and it was observed the presence of generalized chronic and musculoskeletal pain associated to the presence of at least 11 tender points, which are anatomic bilateral sites to touching [3] They don’t integrate the 1990 criteria, several other symptoms like stiffness, anxiety, depression, headaches, sleep disturbs, and fatigue were often presents in the clinical condition of FM [4]. The importance of such symptoms was so great that in 2011 they were inserted in the new diagnosis criteria of the FM syndrome established by the American College of Rheumatology
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