Skin temperature and nitric oxide in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia

This study aimed to investigate skin temperature, indicative of peripheral vascular blood flow, core body temperature and nitric oxide (NO) levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia (FM) and controls.

A case-control study was carried out in 32 healthy premenopausal and 52 healthy postmenopausal women and in 17 premenopausal and 53 postmenopausal women with FM. Hand skin temperature was measured using infrared thermography, tympanic and axillary temperature with an infrared thermometer, and serum NO levels using an ozone chemiluminescence-based method.

Tympanic temperature was higher in postmenopausal women with FM than in postmenopausal controls. Significant differences were found in all of the temperatures recorded in both hands between healthy premenopausal women and premenopausal women with FM and between postmenopausal controls and postmenopausal women with FM. No differences were found in hand temperature, axillary or tympanic temperature, or NO levels between healthy premenopausal and postmenopausal women or between premenopausal and postmenopausal women with FM.

The association between menopause and FM could be responsible for the higher tympanic temperature observed in women with FM. FM, but not menopause, may increase hand skin temperature, which could be indicative of excessive peripheral vasodilation. Menopause may not alter body temperature or NO levels in either patients with FM or healthy women.