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
. 2021 Nov 20;59(4):384-393.
doi: 10.2478/rjim-2021-0022. Print 2021 Dec 1.

Could ferritin, vitamin B12, and vitamin D play a role in the etiopathogenesis of fibromyalgia syndrome?

Affiliations
Free article

Could ferritin, vitamin B12, and vitamin D play a role in the etiopathogenesis of fibromyalgia syndrome?

Adem Kucuk et al. Rom J Intern Med. .
Free article

Abstract

Introduction. Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) comprises general body pain, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. Vitamin B12 (VB), vitamin D (VD), and iron deficiencies lead to similar complaints. First, this study aimed to evaluate the VB, VD, and ferritin levels of patients with FS. Second, it aimed to investigate whether there was a relationship between these parameters and FS severity. Material and methods. The study included 58 female patients with FS and 58 healthy females as a control group. The patients completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), fatigue questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality scale, and the Short Form-36 (SF-36). This study examined the VD, VB, and ferritin levels of the patient and control groups. Results. The VB (240.0 [110.0-394.0] vs 291.0 [210.0-609.0] pg/ml, p<0.001), VD (12.5 [3.0-45.0] vs 20.0 [5.0-54.0] ng/ml, p=0.013), and ferritin levels (21.2 [4.0-86.0] vs 32.0 [7.1-120.0], ng/ml, p=0.009) of the FS patients were determined to be significantly lower than those of the control group. A negative correlation was determined between the number of tender points and VB, VD, and ferritin levels. In the regression analysis, we found low ferritin levels (odds ratio [OR] 1.036, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.015-1.058, p<0.001) and VB (OR 1.010, CI 1.002-1.018, p=0.010) to be an independent risk factor for FS. Conclusions. There may be a relationship between VB, VD, and ferritin levels and the number of tender points in patients with FS. Levels of iron and VB may play a vital role in FS etiopathogenesis. However, VD levels may not be a risk factor for FS etiopathogenesis.

Keywords: anemia; fibromyalgia; iron; vitamin B12; vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. 1. TUZCU A., BAYKARA RA., ALIŞIK M., OMMA A., ACET GK., DOGAN E., et al. Alteration of Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis in Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Acta Medica (Hradec Kralove). 2019;62(1):12–8.
    1. 2. RIERA R. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for fibromyalgia syndrome. Sao Paulo Med J. 2015;133(5):454.
    1. 3. BINKIEWICZ-GLIŃSKA A., BAKUŁA S., TOMCZAK H., LANDOWSKI J., RUCKEMANN-DZIURDZIŃSKA K., ZABOROWSKA-SAPETA K., et al. Fibromyalgia Syndrome – a multidisciplinary approach. Psychiatr Pol. 2015;49(4):801–10.
    1. 4. BORCHERS AT., GERSHWIN ME. Fibromyalgia: A Critical and Comprehensive Review. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2015;49(2):100–51.
    1. 5. ASSUMPÇÃO A., CAVALCANTE AB., CAPELA CE., SAUER JF., CHALOT SD., PEREIRA CA., et al. Prevalence of fibromyalgia in a low socioeconomic status population. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2009;10:64.

LinkOut - more resources