Prevalence of fibromyalgia in asthma and its impact on asthma control: a case-control study

Asthma and fibromyalgia are chronic conditions that significantly impair quality of life and share common inflammatory and neurophysiological mechanisms.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of fibromyalgia in asthma patients and examine its impact on asthma control.

In this case-control study, 120 patients diagnosed with asthma and 120 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Fibromyalgia was diagnosed based on the 2016 revised ACR criteria using the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and Symptom Severity Scale (SSS). Asthma control was assessed using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). The relationship between fibromyalgia and asthma control was analyzed using independent t-tests, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and ROC analysis.

The prevalence of fibromyalgia in the asthma group was 16.7% compared to 3.3% in controls (p < 0.001). Asthma patients with fibromyalgia had significantly lower ACT scores than those without (18.2 ± 2.9 vs. 20.1 ± 2.4; p = 0.004). The proportion of patients with uncontrolled asthma was higher among those with fibromyalgia (60% vs. 35%). Logistic regression showed that fibromyalgia was associated with increased odds of uncontrolled asthma (OR = 2.16), although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.103). ACT scores showed no significant correlation with WPI or SSS. ROC analysis revealed that the ACT score had no discriminatory power in identifying fibromyalgia (AUC = 0.50).

Fibromyalgia is a common comorbidity in asthma patients and may adversely affect perceived asthma control. However, the ACT score alone may not be a reliable indicator of fibromyalgia presence, suggesting the need for multidimensional assessment tools in routine asthma care.