Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun;72(6):949-54.
doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-201506. Epub 2012 Jul 11.

Incidence and predictors of secondary fibromyalgia in an early arthritis cohort

Affiliations

Incidence and predictors of secondary fibromyalgia in an early arthritis cohort

Yvonne C Lee et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: Secondary fibromyalgia (FM) is common among patients with inflammatory arthritis, but little is known about its incidence and the factors leading to its development. The authors examined the incidence of secondary FM in an early inflammatory arthritis cohort, and assessed the association between pain, inflammation, psychosocial variables and the clinical diagnosis of FM.

Methods: Data from 1487 patients in the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort, a prospective, observational Canadian cohort of early inflammatory arthritis patients were analysed. Diagnoses of FM were determined by rheumatologists. Incidence rates were calculated, and Cox regression models were used to determine HRs for FM risk.

Results: The cumulative incidence rate was 6.77 (95% CI 5.19 to 8.64) per 100 person-years during the first 12 months after inflammatory arthritis diagnosis, and decreased to 3.58 (95% CI 1.86 to 6.17) per 100 person-years 12-24 months after arthritis diagnosis. Pain severity (HR 2.01, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.46) and poor mental health (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.62) predicted FM risk. Citrullinated peptide positivity (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.88) was associated with decreased FM risk. Serum inflammatory markers and swollen joint count were not significantly associated with FM risk.

Conclusions: The incidence of FM was from 3.58 to 6.77 cases per 100 person-years, and was highest during the first 12 months after diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis. Although inflammation was not associated with the clinical diagnosis of FM, pain severity and poor mental health were associated with the clinical diagnosis of FM. Seropositivity was inversely associated with the clinical diagnosis of FM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

COMPETING INTERESTS

YCL has stock in Merck, Novartis and Elan Corporation and has a research grant from Forest. GB serves on the board of Janssen, Amgen, BMS, Abbott, UCB, Pfizer. He receives grant support from Merck Canada, Novartis, Amgen, Warner-Chilcott, Janssen and Abbott and develops educational presentations for AstraZeneca, Merck, Amgen, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Warner-Chilcott. BH serves on advisory boards for Abbott, Amgen, BMS, Pfizer, Roche and UCB. BH has a research grant from Institut de rheumatologie de Montreal (Amgen and Pfizer), and he receives payment for lectures for Amgen, Pfizer, Roche and Abbott and for educational presentations for BMS. CAH receives grant funding from UCB and AstraZeneca. JEP is on the board, serves as a consultant and/or receives grant funding from Amgen, Abbott, UCB, BMS, Roche, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Actelion, AstraZeneca and Glaxo Smith Kline. JEP also receives payment for lectures for Amgen, Actelion, BMS, Roche, Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer. JCT is on the board of Amgen, Pfizer, Abbott, Jannsen, Roche, UCB and BMS. ECK is a consultant for Abbott, AstraZeneca, Biotest, BMS, Centocor, Roche, Genentech, Merck, Nycomed, Pfizer and UCB. ECK has grant funding from Amgen, Abbott, AstraZeneca, BMS, Centocor, Roche, Genzyme, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB. ECK receives payment for lectures for Abbott, BMS, Roche, Merck, Pfizer, UCB, Amgen and Janssen. DHS receives research support from Abbott, Amgen and Lilly. VPB is a consultant for Pfizer, BMS, Roche, UCB, Abbott and Kalabios. VPB receives payment for lectures for UCB. The CATCH study was designed and implemented by the investigators and financially supported initially by Amgen Canada Inc. and Pfizer Canada Inc. via an unrestricted research grant. As of 2011, further support was provided by Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., United Chemicals of Belgium (UCB) Canada Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Abbott Laboratories Ltd., and Janssen Biotech Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Inc.).

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram documenting numbers of participants in this study. The primary cohort, used for incidence rates and predictors of fibromyalgia, included 1198 participants. †359 patients did not have sufficient data to determine rheumatoid arthritis classification based on criteria defined by Aletaha et al.[27]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative incidence of fibromyalgia over 36 months.

References

    1. Wolfe F, Michaud K. Severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), worse outcomes, comorbid illness, and sociodemographic disadvantage characterize ra patients with fibromyalgia. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:695–700. - PubMed
    1. Ranzolin A, Brenol JC, Bredemeier M, et al. Association of concomitant fibromyalgia with worse disease activity score in 28 joints, health assessment questionnaire, and short form 36 scores in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2009;61:794–800. - PubMed
    1. Pollard LC, Kingsley GH, Choy EHS, et al. Fibromyalgic rheumatoid arthritis and disease assessment. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2010;49:924–8. - PubMed
    1. Branco JC, Bannwarth B, Failde I, et al. Prevalence of fibromyalgia: a survey in five European countries. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2010;39:448–53. - PubMed
    1. Clauw DJ, Crofford LJ. Chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia: what we know, and what we need to know. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2003;17:685–701. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources