Psychological characteristics of juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to compare psychological characteristics of adolescent patients with juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome (JFM) with individuals suffering from chronic pain (CP) due to headache or joint pain in the lower limbs unrelated to oncological, inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.MethodsThe study was conducted on 37 patients aged 13–18 years old, monitored at the Pain Therapy Outpatient Clinic of the “Bambino Gesù” Pediatric Hospital in Rome. A total of 21 patients were suffering from CP (headache and recurrent arthralgia) and 16 from JFM, diagnosed according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. All subjects were evaluated by a pain therapy specialist, a rheumatologist and a clinical psychologist for the following psycho‐emotional areas and/ or characteristics: cognitive abilities, attention, memory, learning, alexithymia, somatisation, anxiety, depression, coping skills. A clinical psychologist interviewed all patients to assess school absences, the use of analgesic medication, the presence of sleep disorders (e.g., nonrestorative sleep) and the intensity of perceived pain.ResultsSimilarities emerged between the two groups in the presence of depression, anxiety, somatisation, alexithymia, school absenteeism, medication use and reported pain level. The peculiar characteristics of the JFM group, which emerged from our pilot study, were the higher prevalence of the illness amongst women, a higher incidence of sleep disturbances, and a better cognitive endowment, despite some attention and mnemonic deficiencies.ConclusionsTo conclude, the present study suggests that the clinical and psychological characteristics of JFM appear to be similar to those found in the CP population.

Fibromyalgia: one year in review 2023

“…This is important because the estimated prevalence of chronic widespread pain (CWP) among children and adolescents in primary care is as high as 3.19% ( 9), but there are currently no diagnostic criteria for JFM and children are obliged to undergo sub-specialty referrals and extensive imaging and testing (10). Dell'Erba et al (11) have compared the psychological characteristics of JFM patients with those of subjects affected by chronic headache or joint pain, and found that both groups had similar characteristics in terms of depression, anxiety, somatisation, alexithymia, school absenteeism, medication use, and reported pain levels. However, the JFM group was characterised by a higher proportion of females, a higher incidence of sleep disturbances, and better cognitive abilities despite some attention and memory deficiencies.…”