Increased risk of anxiety and depression associated with chronic pain and fibromyalgia in Pakistani population

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) is reported to be strongly linked with anxiety and depression and is accompanied with the chronic antidepressant treatment. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of fibromyalgia in patients presenting with chronic pain. Also, we assessed the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients suffering from chronic pain compared to fibromyalgia. Material and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 502 patients who presented at the rheumatology outpatient clinic of a tertiary-care hospital. Diagnosis of FM was based upon the defined criteria of American College of Rheumatology. Demographic data was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire. Whereas anxiety and depression were assessed using a preformed and previously validated Hospital-based Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Results showed that a higher level of perceived pain (both chronic widespread pain or fibromyalgia pain) was significantly associated with a higher incidence of anxiety and depression in such patients. Furthermore, patients suffering from both chronic pain and high levels of anxiety and depression were at a higher increased risk of developing FM syndrome. Conclusion: It was concluded that anxiety and depressive symptoms are significantly associated with increased pain perception, therefore anxiety and depression should be diagnosed and properly treated in order to improve FM symptoms for better quality of life.