Fibromyalgia: gender and age characteristics

Fibromyalgia: gender and age characteristics

O.V. Teplyakova, A.A. Morozova 

Ural State Medical University, Yekaterinburg 

Aim: to present the fibromyalgia (FM) patterns, taking into account the age, gender differences, as well as the presence of concomitant affective disorders among patients living in a large industrial center of the Russian Federation.

Patients and Methods: the study involved 188 patients with FM (163 female patients (mean age 49.8±12 years) and 25 male patients (mean age 41.8±11.2 years)) who visited a rheumatologist at the Medical Association "Novaya Bolnitsa" (Yekaterinburg) from November 2018 to December 2022. FM diagnosis was established on the basis of ACR-2016 criteria. The pain severity was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS). All patients filled out the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Questionnaire (HADS).

Results: female patients were characterized by a high degree of fatigue, feelings of sleep inertia, cognitive disorders, and widespread body pain. Age-related characteristics of the FM had minimal differences. The presence of changes in the affective sphere was revealed in 79.1% of female patients: 31.9% — social anxiety disorders, 5.5% — depressive disorders; 41.7% — mixed anxiety-depressive. Groups of patients with no affective disorders and social anxiety disorders were absolutely comparable by all FM signs, whereas the presence of a depressive component was accompanied by a significant condition deterioration in female patients.

Conclusion: FM covers all areas of patients’ health, however, it is poorly diagnosed. The presence of the widespread pain, concomitant complaints, anxiety and depression should make the practitioner think about the possibility of FM manifestation.

Keywords: fibromyalgia, pain, central sensitisation, anxiety, depression, anxiety disorder, depressive disorder.

For citation: Teplyakova O.V., Morozova A.A. Fibromyalgia: gender and age characteristics. RMJ. 2023;7:32–36.