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Longitudinal stability of fibromyalgia symptom clusters
Tanya L Hoskin1, Mary O Whipple2,3, Sanjeev Nanda2
1Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|March 1, 2018
Summary
Fibromyalgia symptom clusters showed moderate stability over two years. Most patients remained in their original cluster, with few experiencing significant worsening or improvement in symptom severity.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Fibromyalgia is characterized by diverse symptoms including pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction.
- Previous research identified four distinct symptom clusters in fibromyalgia patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the longitudinal stability of previously identified fibromyalgia symptom clusters.
- To examine cluster changes between baseline and a 2-year follow-up.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of women diagnosed with fibromyalgia completed validated questionnaires at baseline and 2-year follow-up.
- A hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm was used to define clusters.
- Agreement between baseline and follow-up cluster assignments was evaluated using the kappa statistic.
Main Results:
- Among 433 participants, 58% remained in their baseline symptom cluster after 2 years, indicating moderate stability (κ = 0.44).
- Few patients transitioned between high and low symptom intensity clusters.
- A slight tendency towards lower symptom levels was observed more often than worsening.
Conclusions:
- Fibromyalgia symptom clusters demonstrate moderate stability over a 2-year period.
- The identified clusters provide a potentially stable classification for understanding fibromyalgia heterogeneity.
- Clinical interventions may consider the relative stability of these symptom profiles over time.
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