Coexistence of fibromyalgia and post-polio syndrome in persons with prior poliomyelitis in Turkey: the relations with symptoms, 2022 Latifoglou et al

Full title: Coexistence of fibromyalgia and post-polio syndrome in persons with prior poliomyelitis in Turkey: the relations with symptoms, polio-related impairments, and quality of life

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate the prevalence of fibromyalgia(FM) and to show its relations with symptoms, polio-related impairments (PRI), and quality of life (QoL) in persons with prior paralytic poliomyelitis (PsPP) with and without post-polio syndrome (PPS).

Materials and methods
The study included 74 PsPP under 60 years of age, 60 of whom met the criteria for PPS. Presence and severity of FM were assessed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990, 2010, and 2016 criteria, and Fibromyalgia Severity Score. PPS symptoms, PRI, and QoL were evaluated using the Self-Reported Impairments in Persons with Late Effects of Polio Rating Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Nottingham Health Profile. Frequency, comparison, and correlation analyses were performed.

Results
While 15% of PsPP with PPS met the criteria of ACR 1990, 32% of ACR 2010, and 35% of ACR 2016, none of those without PPS met any of the criteria for FM. Severity of PPS symptoms and PRI were significantly higher, and QoL was significantly lower in those with co-existing FM. FM severity was found to be significantly associated with severity of PPS symptoms, PRI and reduced QoL.

Conclusions
FM frequently coexists in PsPP with PPS and may increase the burden of PPS.

• Implications for Rehabilitation
• Fibromyalgia (FM) is commonly seen in patients with post-polio syndrome (PPS).
  
  
• Co-existing FM may increase the burden of PPS, as it is associated with more severe symptoms, more polio-related impairments, and worse quality of life.
  
  
• Recognition, appropriate referral, and successful management of co-existing FM may allow for reduced symptoms or symptom severity and improved quality of life in persons with PPS.
  

Paywall, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2022.2127931

 

I wish more people realized FM was sometimes a post-infectious illness. It would make more people believe it was a real illness, since there's no conceivable mental process that could cause someone to be in widespread pain for years from an infection.

 

In hindsight, simply saying that most infections are harmless even when they take permanent hold in the body and thinking it makes it true wasn't especially smart. Because it was always "as far as we know", and we still know very little. So very little.

It's absurd to think of how much more advanced we could be, how better our overall quality of life could be, if it wasn't for damn hubris, a culture where being confidently wrong is a good way to get to the top. Even in medicine. Everywhere, yes, but even in medicine. Ugh.

 

Haven't read the paper but wondered whether the overlap of Fibromyalgia diagnosis and Post-Polio-Syndrome just means that the ACR criteria aren't good at differentiating Fibromyalgia from common symptoms of Post-Polio-Syndrome?