Performance-Based and Self-Reported Frailty in Older Adults with or Without Fibromyalgia.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Rheumatology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition associated with accelerated aging and physical frailty.
• Understanding frailty phenotypes in FM is crucial for managing functional decline.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare performance-based and self-reported physical frailty in adults with and without FM.
• To investigate the association between pain intensity and frailty in aging adults.

Main Methods:

• 234 community-dwelling adults (with/without FM) were analyzed.
• Physical frailty assessed via validated performance (e.g., 6MWT, 30SCS) and self-report (e.g., RAPA) measures.
• Principal component analysis identified performance-based and self-reported frailty components.

Main Results:

• A two-component structure explained 61% of frailty variance.
• Higher pain intensity correlated with worse performance-based frailty (adjusted R²=0.36).
• Higher pain intensity correlated with worse self-reported frailty (adjusted R²=0.39).

Conclusions:

• Pain intensity is a significant risk factor for physical frailty in aging adults.
• Both performance-based and self-reported frailty assessments are valuable in FM clinical practice.