Abstract
BackgroundData is lacking on comorbid personality disorders (PD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in terms of prevalence, and associated healthcare and societal costs. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PD in FMS patients and to analyse whether the presence of comorbid PD is related to worse functional impairment and greater healthcare (medical visits, drug consumption, and medical tests) and societal costs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed using the baseline data of 216 FMS patients participating in a randomized, controlled trial carried out in three primary health care centres situated in the region of Barcelona, Spain. Measurement instruments included the International Personality Disorder Examination - Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI), and a socio-demographic questionnaire.ResultsMost patients (65 %) had a potential PD according to the IPDE-SQ. The most prevalent PD were the avoidant (41.4 %), obsessive-compulsive (33.1 %), and borderline (27 %). We found statistically significant differences in functional impairment (FIQ scores) between FMS patients with potential PD vs non-PD (59.2 vs 51.1; p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analyses revealed that higher FIQ total scores and the presence of potential PD were related to more healthcare costs (primary and specialised care visits).ConclusionsAs expected, PD are frequent comorbid conditions in patients with FMS. Our results suggest that the screening of comorbid PD in patients with FMS might be recommendable in order to detect potential frequent attenders to primary and specialised care.
Highlights
Data is lacking on comorbid personality disorders (PD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in terms of prevalence, and associated healthcare and societal costs
We only found marginally significant differences in functional status (FIQ total score) between the patients that were evaluated with the International Personality Disorder Examination - Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ) and those that were not evaluated, with the latter being slightly more deteriorated (Online Resource 2)
This study focused on the presence of potential PD in patients with FMS and found that 65 % of patients met criteria for a potential PD according to the IPDE-SQ
Summary
Data is lacking on comorbid personality disorders (PD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in terms of prevalence, and associated healthcare and societal costs. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PD in FMS patients and to analyse whether the presence of comorbid PD is related to worse functional impairment and greater healthcare (medical visits, drug consumption, and medical tests) and societal costs. Prevalence estimates for FMS in the general population have varied from 2 % to 4 % in most studies [5]. According to a study by Sicras-Mainar and colleagues [8], the annual cost per patient in Spain is more than 9,000€, approximately 5,000€ more than the reference population. In the U.S, the annual cost of a FMS patient is triple that of the reference population [9]
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