Prevalence and Characterization of Psychological Trauma in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Cross-Sectional Study 2022,Perez et al

Abstract
Background. Preliminary evidence suggests that psychological trauma, especially childhood trauma, is a risk factor for the onset of fibromyalgia (FM). Objective. The main objective of this study consisted of evaluating the prevalence and detailed characteristics of psychological trauma in a sample of patients with FM, the chronology of trauma across the lifespan, and its clinical symptoms. We also calculated whether childhood trauma could predict the relationship with different clinical variables.

Method. Eighty-eight females underwent an interview to assess sociodemographic data, psychiatric comorbidities, level of pain, FM impact, clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, quality of life, and psychological trauma.

Results. The majority of participants (71.5%) met the diagnostic criteria for current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants reported having suffered traumatic events throughout their lifespan, especially in childhood and early adolescence, in the form of emotional abuse, emotional neglect, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. Traumatic events predict both poor quality of life and a level of pain in adulthood. All patients showed clinically relevant levels of anxiety, depression, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and pain, as well as somatic comorbidities and poor quality of life. Pain levels predicted anxiety, depression, dissociation, and insomnia symptoms. 84% of the sample suffered one or more traumatic events prior to the onset of pain.

Conclusions. Our data highlight the clinical complexity of patients with FM and the role of childhood trauma in the onset and maintenance of FM, as well as the high comorbidity between anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, and FM. Our data also supports FM patients experiencing further retraumatization as they age, with an extremely high prevalence of current PTSD in our sample. These findings underscore the need for multidisciplinary programs for FM patients to address their physical pain and their psychiatric and somatic conditions, pay special attention to the assessment of psychological trauma, and provide trauma-focused interventions.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04476316. Registered on July 20th, 2020.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prm/2022/2114451/

 

The authors don't note vehicle accidents as the instigation of Fibromyaligia (FM). I have known three pwFM whose disease started shortly after a car accident.

IMO everyone can point to some trauma in their childhood. This doesn't result in FM for everyone.

 

Desperately need a different physical illness (eg MS) control group.

Added - I am not with it enough today to read the full article, but on what terms were FM subjects recruited; did they going into the study knowing that it was examining links between FM and traumatic events? Could it be that participants with existing beliefs that trauma is a precipitating factor were more attracted to the study, and/or participants wanting to do well for the researchers felt obliged to report maximal levels of trauma.

 

Yes agreed, and we desperately need the record changed!