Percepções acerca da qualidade de vida e da associação com depressão e ansiedade em pacientes com fibromialgia

Abstract

BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a disease characterized by the presence of chronic, multifocal, vigorous, and strenuous musculoskeletal pain. It’s closely related to psychiatric disorders, in which anxiety disorders and depression are the most prevalent of them. The purpose of this study it is to evaluate whether the use of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) - which contains a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for anxiety and depression - as a screening test for anxiety and depression in patients with fibromyalgia, is comparable to questionnaires General Anxiety Disorder - 7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9), used as a screening test of such mental disorders in primary care. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is an observational, analytical-descriptive, and cross sectional quantitative study carried out between August 2019 and February 2020 at the fibromyalgia and chronic pain department of a tertiary-care hospital. The confidence interval was estimated at 99% and the level of significance was set at p <0.01. Spearman's Correlation Test was applied between variables referring to PHQ-9 and EVA referring to the degree of depression and between GAD-7 and EVA referring to the degree of anxiety RESULTS Participants were 84 patients, with an average age of 41 years, mostly female and 54.1% of the interviewees reported a pain syndrome for the last five years. There was a correlation of 0.66 with p-value < 0.01 between the data collected through PHQ-9 and the depression VAS score, proving a moderate to a strong correlation between the variables. Analyzing the variables referring to GAD-7 and the EVA score regarding the degree of anxiety, the correlation found was 0.61 with p-value < 0.01, also demonstrating a moderate to a strong correlation between the variables. CONCLUSION There is an important correlation between the individual perception of the patients with FMS about his mental symptoms and a directed evaluation of his symptoms, conducted by specific instruments. In addition, it’s possible to infer the good sensitivity of the VAS for the clinical evaluation of the patient with chronic pain. Thus, the application of FIQR in patients with chronic pain in primary and secondary services can be used as a screening test for anxiety and depression disorders with good reliability, allowing to separate patients who need more attentive mental care from those who have lower levels on the VAS, with a more physical condition than mental illness.