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Fibromyalgia in Behçet’s disease is associated with anxiety and depression, and not with disease activity

S.-S. Lee¹, H.-J. Yoon¹, H.K. Chang², K.-S. Park³

¹Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju; ²Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan; ³Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Seonam University, Namwon, South Korea.

ABSTRACT
Objective
To determine the prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) in Korean patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) and to evaluate the association between FM and clinical and psychological variables.

Methods
Seventy patients with BD were examined for FM tender points and asked to complete a Korean version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Disease activity was measured using the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and a clinical activity score, which was calculated by summing the clinical manifestations. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used for psychometric scoring.

Results
Twenty-six BD patients (37.1%) met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for FM. The patients who met the criteria for FM were more frequently female, less frequently employed, and less well educated. Age, disease duration, clinical manifestations, medication, and measures of disease activity did not differ between BD patients with and without FM. Nevertheless, BD patients with FM had higher STAI and BDI scores than did patients without FM (all p < 0.05). FM tender points were significantly correlated with the STAI and BDI, and not with disease activity variables. The FIQ scores were also strongly correlated with the STAI and BDI scores, and not with disease activity.

Conclusion
FM was very common among BD patients and was associated with the presence of anxiety and depression, and not with disease activity.

Key words
Fibromyalgia, Behçet’s disease.

Please address correspondence to: Prof. Shin-Seok Lee, MD PhD, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hak-Dong 5, Dong-Ku, Gwangju 501-746, South Korea.
E-mail: shinseok@chonnam.ac.kr