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The correlation between the ACR questionnaire and fitness for work of fibromyalgia patients
A. Krakov1, A.S. Finestone2, L. Rinsky-Halivni3, D. Alperovitch-Najenson4, R. Lagrissi5, S. Moshe6
- Occupational Medicine Department, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Rishon Lezion; and The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. solgabu@gmail.com
- Department of Orthopaedics, Shamir Medical Center, Zerifin, Affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
- Department of Occupational Medicine, Clalit Health Services, Jerusalem; and Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
- Occupational Medicine Department, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Rishon Lezion; and The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
- Occupational Medicine Department, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Rishon Lezion; and The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
CER13756
2021 Vol.39, N°3 ,Suppl.130
PI 0061, PF 0065
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PMID: 33886454 [PubMed]
Received: 30/06/2020
Accepted : 19/10/2020
In Press: 09/04/2021
Published: 21/06/2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a central pain syndrome characterised by widespread pain, fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, memory impairment and cognitive changes, predominantly in women, and is a cause for disability and frequent sick leave. So far, no assessment has been made of the use of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2010 questionnaire in the fitness for work (FFW) assessment of FM patients. To assess the correlation between the severity of FM as measured by the ACR questionnaire and other parameters and FFW.
METHODS:
We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study involving women with FM who had their FFW assessed at an occupational health clinic between 2014-2018. The ACR questionnaire was completed during the medical assessment.
RESULTS:
We examined 60 files of women, mean age 48.8 years. Absolute loss of working capacity (ALWC) was calculated in relation to a standard 8-hour workday, while relative loss of working capacity (RLWC) was based on the patient’s actual appointment percentage before the examination. The average ALWC determined by the occupational physicians was 59% ± 33%. Age group correlated significantly with ALWC (correlation coefficient = 0.03, p<0.05). The Part 2b symptoms (0-41) also correlated significantly with ALWC (mean ± SD 21.8±5.6, correlation coefficient = 0.23, p<0.05). Medical treatment correlated significantly with RLWC (correlation coefficient = 0.02, p<0.05). The rate of disability was high compared to what was reported in other studies. The correlation between different parts of the ACR questionnaire and disability demonstrated that symptom severity is a predictor of loss of working capacity.
CONCLUSIONS:
When performing a FFW assessment of FM patients, physicians may use the ACR questionnaire, since FFW correlates with its score. We assume that patients who experience more pain visit their physicians more often and consume more analgesics
