Quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia presenting headache and/or depressive symptoms

Abstract

Introduction

Fibromyalgia has a high degree of co-occurrence with a number of conditions. The association of fibromyalgia, headache and mood disorders is well observed.

Objective

To analyze the relationship between these manifestations, exploring whether the quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia is influenced by the presence of depressive symptoms and chronification of headache.

Materials and methods

A retrospective observational cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia presenting with headache and/or depressive symptoms. The samples were evaluated using the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and Symptom Severity (SS) questionnaires to confirm the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Quality of life and level of depressive symptoms were assessed, respectively, by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

Results

A total of 120 patients (3 men and 117 women) diagnosed with fibromyalgia were interviewed, with ages ranging from 23 to 65 years. The most common primary headache was chronic migraine (45%). While depressive symptoms was observed in 118 patients (98.33%). The factors degree of depressive symptoms and headache chronicity were marginally significant in explaining the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia.

Conclusions

Faced with a disease with such a possibility of being associated with other complex conditions, multidisciplinary monitoring becomes a preponderant factor in the treatment of the entire patient.