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Co-morbidity and physician use in fibromyalgia
S Bernatsky1, P L Dobkin, M De Civita
1Division of Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Swiss Medical Weekly
|February 25, 2005
Summary
Women with fibromyalgia (FM) frequently have other medical and psychiatric conditions. These comorbidities significantly increase physician visits more than "functional" conditions.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Health Services Research
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex chronic pain condition.
- Comorbidity is common in FM patients, impacting health outcomes.
- Understanding comorbidity patterns is crucial for effective patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize comorbidity in women diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
- To investigate the influence of different comorbidity types on healthcare utilization, specifically physician visits.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 180 women with primary FM was assessed at baseline and 6 months.
- Comorbidity was categorized into medical, psychiatric, and "functional" (medically unexplained symptoms) groups.
- Logistic regression models analyzed the association between comorbidity types and physician use, controlling for covariates.
Main Results:
- Over 90% of women with FM reported comorbid conditions.
- A higher number of comorbid complaints correlated with increased physician visits.
- Medical comorbidity was a significantly stronger predictor of high physician use compared to "functional" comorbidity.
Conclusions:
- Comorbidity is highly prevalent in women with fibromyalgia.
- Medical and psychiatric comorbidities are more strongly associated with increased physician utilization than "functional" comorbidities.