T-O-137 THE EVOLUTION, ROLE AND SCOPE OF COUNSELING SERVICES AT THE SLEEP AND ALERTNESS CLINIC IN TORONTO, CANADA

Abstract

Results: The overall fibromyalgia sample (N=2196) had a mean age of 53.32 (SD=12.63). Patients experiencing severe or general sleep difficulties were significantly more likely to be on disability (severe=28.01% vs. general=23.17% vs. none=14.87%; p<0.05) and less likely to possess insurance coverage (87.09% vs. 90.07% vs. 93.68%; p<0.05) compared with patients without sleep difficulties. After adjustment for demographic and health characteristics, patients experiencing severe or general sleep difficulties reported higher mean direct costs ($5,947.34 vs. $5,951.51 vs. $4,205.72; p<0.05) than patients without sleep difficulties. Patients with severe symptoms reported higher indirect costs ($15,043.48 vs. $11,505.72 vs. $11,852.57; p<0.05) than patients without sleep difficulties. Conclusion: Among the fibromyalgia population, sleep difficulties were independently associated with higher direct and indirect costs. These results suggest effective treatment may be necessary to adequately manage sleep difficulties among patients with fibromyalgia. Acknowledgements: This study was conducted by Kantar on behalf of Pfizer, which funded the study. Mr. Wagner and Dr. DiBonaventura are full-time employees of Kantar, who were paid consultants to Pfizer in connection with the analysis and development of this manuscript.