Assessment of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia and their spouses

Abstract

Objective: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disease that is more common in adult women and is characterized by widespread pain in the body, especially in the musculoskeletal system. Fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety disorder, and depression can be observed in this syndrome alongside pain. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of FMS on the quality of life, psychological condition, and sleep quality of affected female patients and their spouses compared to women without FMS and their spouses.

Patients and methods: Thirty female patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia and their spouses and 38 healthy women and their spouses similar in age to these patients voluntarily participated in our study (136 participants total). The diagnosis of the patients was made according to the American College of Rheumatology. Turkish versions of the Short Form-36 (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaires with validity and reliability were applied to all participants. The statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS 24.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, US). Differences with p-values of ≤0.05 were statistically significant, and all results are expressed with a 95% confidence interval.

Results: A total of 136 people, including women with FMS (n=30), spouses of FMS women (n=30), non-FMS control women (n=38), and spouses of the control women (n=38), were included in the study. The patient and control groups were similar in age and gender. However, participants in the study group had higher mean Body Mass Indexes compared to the controls. Quality of life and its sub-scales (except SF-36/Social function parameter), depression, anxiety status, and sleep quality were significantly different between the patients and controls. Additionally, quality of life and its sub-scales (except SF-36/Social function parameter), depression, and anxiety status were significantly different between the spouses of the patients and controls. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding the mean SF-36/SF (p=0.995 for both). Additionally, there was no significant difference between the spouse of the patient and control regarding the mean PSQI values (p=0126).

Conclusions: We believe that new and more comprehensive studies are necessary regarding the spouses of women with FMS in depression, anxiety, sleep quality disorders that we frequently see in women with FMS, and other psychosocial conditions that we have not mentioned here. In conclusion, women with FMS and their spouses.