Evaluation of psychiatric symptoms in patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: Our aim was to assess depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms and sleep problems in patients with fibromyalgia during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This study was conducted face-to-face with 62 SARS-CoV-2 negative fibromyalgia patients. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS), the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia 2010 were applied to the subjects. Results: Patient mean scores on the HAD Depression and HAD Anxiety scales were 8.42 ± 3.73 and 9.58 ± 3.86, respectively. The patients' PSQI and PCL-5 scores were 8.10 ± 3.49 and 33.90 ± 16.91, respectively. While the CAS score average was found to be 1.13 ± 2.79, the OCS score average was found to be 1.81 ± 2.27. The mean scores for the Widespread Pain Index (WPI), Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were 9.90 ± 3.03, 7.84 ± 2.07 and 7.37 ± 1.81, respectively. Poor sleep quality was identified in 75.8% and a risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms in 16.1%. SSS scores were found to be higher in those at risk of depression than those without (U=265, p = 0.003). OCS (U=256, p = 0.007), SSS (U=203.5, p = 0.001), VAS (U=263.5, p = 0.012), PCL-5 (U=144, p = 0.001) scores were found to be higher in those at risk of anxiety than those without. Conclusions: It was observed that depression was a predictor of fibromyalgia symptom severity and anxiety was a predictor of obsession with coronavirus, fibromyalgia symptom severity, VAS, and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

___

  • 1. Liu N, Zhang F, Wei C, Jia Y, Shang Z, Sun L, et al. Prevalence and predictors of PTSS during COVID-19 outbreak in China hardest-hit areas: gender differences matter. Psychiatry Res 2020;287:112921.
  • 2. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Koretz D, Merikangas KR, et al. The epidemiology of major depressive disorder: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). JAMA 2003;289:3095-105.
  • 3. Yalinay Dikmen P, Yavuz BG, Aydinlar EI. The relationships between migraine, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances. Acta Neurol Belg 2015;115:117-22.
  • 4. Häuser W, Hoffmann EM, Wolfe F, Worthing AB, Stahl N, Rothenberg R, et al. Self-reported childhood maltreatment, lifelong traumatic events and mental disorders in fibromyalgia syndrome: a comparison of US and German outpatients. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2015;33(1 Suppl 88):S86-92.
  • 5. Tan AC, Jaaniste T, Champion D. Chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia syndrome: life-course risk markers in young people. Pain Res Manag 2019;2019:6584753.
  • 6. Salaffi F, Giorgi V, Sirotti S, Bongiovanni S, Farah S, Bazzichi L, et al. The effect of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) on fibromyalgia syndrome. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2021;39(Suppl 130):S72-7.
  • 7. Zigmond AS, Snaith RP. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1983;67:361-70.
  • 8. Aydemir Ö, Guvenir T, Kuey L, Kultur S. [Validity and reliability of Turkish version of hospital anxiety and depression scale]. Turk Psikiyatri Derg 1997;8:280-7. [Article in Turkish]
  • 9. Buysse DJ, Reynolds III CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res 1989;28:193-213.
  • 10. Ağargün M, Kara H, Anlar Ö. [Validity and reliability of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index]. Turk Psikiyatri Derg 1996;7:107-15. [Article in Turkish]
  • 11. Weathers FW, Litz BT, Keane TM, Palmieri PA, Marx BP, Schnurr PP. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov. 2013.
  • 12. Boysan M, Guzel Ozdemir P, Ozdemir O, Selvi Y, Yilmaz E, Kaya N. Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (PCL-5). Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol 2017;27:300-10.
  • 13. Lee SA. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: a brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Stud 2020;44:393-401.
  • 14. Evren C, Evren B, Dalbudak E, Topcu M, Kutlu N. Measuring anxiety related to COVID-19: A Turkish validation study of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. Death Stud 2022;46:1052-8.
  • 15. Lee SA. How much “Thinking” about COVID-19 is clinically dysfunctional? Brain Behav Immun 2020;87:97.
  • 16. Wolfe F, Clauw DJ, Fitzcharles MA, Goldenberg DL, Häuser W, Katz RS, et al. Fibromyalgia criteria and severity scales for clinical and epidemiological studies: a modification of the ACR Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia. J Rheumatol 2011;38:1113-22.
  • 17. Wolfe F, Clauw DJ, Fitzcharles MA, Goldenberg DL, Katz RS, Mease P, et al. The American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia and measurement of symptom severity. Arthritis Care Res 2010;62:600-10.
  • 18. Reyes del Paso GA, Pulgar A, Duschek S, Garrido S. Cognitive impairment in fibromyalgia syndrome: the impact of cardiovascular regulation, pain, emotional disorders and medication. Eur J Pain 2012;16:421-9.
  • 19. Rose S, Cottencin O, Chouraki V, Wattier JM, Houvenagel E, Vallet B, et al. [Study on personality and psychiatric disorder in fibromyalgia] Presse Med 2009;38:695-700. [Article in French]
  • 20. Thieme K, Turk DC, Flor H. Comorbid depression and anxiety in fibromyalgia syndrome: relationship to somatic and psychosocial variables. Psychosom Med 2004;66:837-44.
  • 21. Neumann L, Lerner E, Glazer Y, Bolotin A, Shefer A, Buskila D. A cross-sectional study of the relationship between body mass index and clinical characteristics, tenderness measures, quality of life, and physical functioning in fibromyalgia patients. Clin Rheumatol 2008;27:1543-7.
  • 22. Häuser W, Galek A, Erbslöh-Möller B, Köllner V, Kühn-Becker H, Langhorst J, et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder in fibromyalgia syndrome: prevalence, temporal relationship between posttraumatic stress and fibromyalgia symptoms, and impact on clinical outcome. Pain 2013;154:1216-23.
  • 23. Salari N, Hosseinian-Far A, Jalali R, Vaisi-Raygani A, Rasoulpoor S, Mohammadi M, et al. Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Glob Health 2020;16:1-11.
  • 24. Gualano MR, Lo Moro G, Voglino G, Bert F, Siliquini R. Effects of Covid-19 lockdown on mental health and sleep disturbances in Italy. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:4779.
  • 25. Aloush V, Gurfinkel A, Shachar N, Ablin JN, Elkana O. Physical and mental impact of COVID-19 outbreak on fibromyalgia patients. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2021;39:108-14.
  • 26. Bernik M, Sampaio TP, Gandarela L. Fibromyalgia comorbid with anxiety disorders and depression: combined medical and psychological treatment. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2013;17:358.
  • 27. Johnson SU, Ebrahimi OV, Hoffart A. PTSD symptoms among health workers and public service providers during the COVID-19 outbreak. PloS One 2020;15:e0241032.
  • 28. Kharko AY, Hansford KJ, Furlong PL, Hall SD, Roser ME. The anxiety and pain of fibromyalgia patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. MedRxiv 2020.
  • 29. Miró E, Martínez MP, Sánchez AI, Cáliz R. Clinical manifestations of trauma exposure in fibromyalgia: the role of anxiety in the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and fibromyalgia status. J Trauma Stress 2020;33:1082-92.