Autonomic Dysfunction in Patients with Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is considered in the medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) category due to the unclear etiology and pathophysiology of the disease. The aim was to study alterations of autonomic functions in these patients by using heart-based tests, blood pressure (BP)-based tests, and sympathetic skin response (SSR). In this prospective cohort study, patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM) and other healthy subjects were taken in the medical city, Baghdad (Iraq). The case study (n = 47) has been designed to assess the autonomic nervous system functions among patients with fibromyalgia versus healthy individuals. According to the 2010 ACR Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria (Modified 2011), a patient meets the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if the following conditions are met: Widespread Pain Index (WPI) ≥7 and symptom severity (SS) scale score ≥5 or WPI 3-6 and SS scale score ≥9. The outcomes delineated that the female population in the fibromyalgia group explicated significant increases in DBP differences in comparison to the control group. The heart rate variability parameters, including Valsalva ratio and deep breathing E/I ratio, were significantly different between fibromyalgia patients (the experimental group) and healthy individuals (control group). Similarly, the inferences exposed the statistical correlation among the clinical features of groups and their SSR outcomes in fibromyalgia patients.
Keywords: fibromyalgia, sympathetic skin response, autonomic function tests.