Stress modulates key psychological processes and characteristic symptoms in females with fibromyalgia

CER6509
2013 Vol.31, N°6 ,Suppl.79
PI 0064, PF 0071
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PMID: 24143887 [PubMed]

Received: 01/04/2013
Accepted : 30/08/2013
In Press: 21/10/2013
Published: 16/12/2013

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
To examine how stress interacts with psychological processes and key phenotypic symptom characteristics in females with fibromyalgia.
METHODS:
Ninety-eight women with fibromyalgia, diagnosed according to ACR 1990 criteria, and 35 female healthy controls without pain were studied. Applied questionnaires included the following: Perceived Stress scale [PSS], Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire [FIQ], Perceived Control of Internal States (PCOIS), Mastery scale and the Profile of Mood States scale (POMS).
RESULTS:
Perceived stress correlated significantly with the characteristic features of fibromyalgia including pain (p<0.05) and sleep change, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction (all p<0.001). Perceived stress correlated inversely with measures of control and positively with mood and neuroticism (all p<0.001). When controlling for stress, most of these variables were no longer significant, suggesting that stress impacts on the majority of variables associated with FM.
CONCLUSIONS:
Stress in females with fibromyalgia associates with both key symptoms and a range of relevant psychological variables. Stress appears to have a major role in modulating several key `up-stream` processes in fibromyalgia.