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Fibromyalgia in primary antiphospholipid (Hughes) syndrome
S P Costa1, L V Lage, L M Henrique da Mota
1Rheumatology Division, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Fibromyalgia (FM) affects 16.7% of patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS), leading to significantly lower quality of life and increased pain compared to healthy individuals.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome often associated with rheumatic diseases.
- The prevalence of FM in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) has not been previously studied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of FM in PAPS patients.
- To investigate associations between FM and PAPS characteristics.
- To evaluate quality of life and depression in PAPS patients with and without FM.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study comparing 30 PAPS patients (Sapporo criteria) with 40 healthy controls.
- FM diagnosis based on ACR criteria.
- Assessment using SF-36, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
Main Results:
- Fibromyalgia was diagnosed in 16.7% of PAPS patients versus 0% of controls (p=0.012).
- PAPS patients reported more diffuse pain, higher tender point counts, lower quality of life (SF-36), and higher depression scores (BDI, FIQ, VAS) than controls.
- PAPS patients with FM showed significantly worse quality of life (SF-36) and higher FIQ and VAS scores compared to PAPS patients without FM.
Conclusions:
- Approximately one-fifth of PAPS patients have fibromyalgia.
- PAPS patients with FM experience a significantly diminished quality of life.
- Further research is warranted to understand the relationship between PAPS and FM.
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