The Fibromyalgia Bladder Index in 100 consecutive women with fibromyalgia

The Fibromyalgia Bladder Index (FBI) is a validated instrument to quantify bothersome bladder symptoms specifically in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The FBI includes two sub-scales: one addressing urinary urgency and bladder pain (UP), the other addressing urinary frequency and nocturia (FN). The objectives of this study are to evaluate the FBI in a cohort of patients with FMS, to correlate it with certain characteristics in this cohort, and to compare it with controls.

We performed a case-control study of 100 women with FMS and 155 controls. Demographic data, comorbidities, and other characteristics were registered. Comparison between FBI scores of participants with and without FMS, as well as correlation of FBI scores with the characteristics of FMS patients, were undertaken using independent two-sample t test for continuous outcomes and Pearson's Chi-squared test for categorical outcomes.

The mean UP subscale score of the FBI was significantly higher in the FMS group (10.29 ± 5.61) compared with the controls (1.65 ± 2.65; (p = 0.001). The mean FN subscale score was significantly higher in the FMS group (9.93 ± 5.37) compared with the controls (2.95 ± 3.27; p = 0.001). FMS patients diagnosed >3 years ago had a higher UP subscale score and a higher FN subscale score compared with FMS patients diagnosed <3 years ago (p = 0.020 and p = 0.024 respectively). Menopause and parity significantly increased the FBI scores. Smoking and a history of depression did not significantly affect any of the FBI subscale scores in the FMS group.

Women with FMS suffer from bothersome bladder symptoms that can be readily identified and quantified.