Demographic and clinical characteristics of thai patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

Background: The heterogeneity in somatic and psychological symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS] varies in prevalence and characteristics due to variations of clinical symptoms, genetics and socio-cultural behaviors in different populations. Objective: To obtain demographic data, clinical characteristics, and to investigate the correlations of clinical characteristics in Thai patients with FMS. Materials and Methods: Seventy-one FMS patients (based on the American College of Rheumatology [ACR] 1,990 diagnostic criteria) were enrolled and their demographic information as well as clinical characteristics were determined. Questionnaires including pain visual analog scale [PVAS], patient global assessment of disease status measured by using a visual analog scale [VAS], fibromyalgia impact questionnaire [FIQ], Jenkin’s sleep scale, and Hamilton Depression rating scale [HAM-D] were recorded. Results: Almost all subjects were female (97.20%), mean ± SD age was 44.83±10.81 years, mean ± SD duration of widespread pain was 3.43±2.92 years. Muscle pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and headache were the majority of reported symptoms (100%, 74.60%, 71.80% and 71.80%, respectively). The average ±SD PVAS, VAS, FIQ, and Jenkin’s sleep scores were 63.39±17.80, 60.53±19.64, 45.48±16.83, and 8.42±5.21, respectively. Most patients had no or mild depressive symptoms. The average ±SD HAM-D score was 7.72±4.45. Correlation analysis revealed the significant relationship between various characteristics. Moderate positive correlation between PVAS score and VAS score measured patient global assessment of disease status (r = 0.609, p<0.001) as well as Jenkin’s sleep scale score and HAM-D total score (r = 0.621, p<0.001) was also observed. Conclusion: Most Thai people with FMS were middle-aged women. The main clinical problems were pain and insomnia but not depressive symptoms. Positive correlation between several clinical scores was documented.