Quality of Life in Patients with Fibromyalgia

Objectives: The aim of this review is to provide practicing clinicians with detailed information on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with fibromyalgia, and the medical and non-medical management effects on quality of life in fibromyalgia. Methods: A systematic English language search of the medical literature from January 1980 to January 2013 using PubMed was conducted using the search terms ＂fibromyalgia＂ AND ＂quality of life.＂ The literature search revealed 1,086 publications; 259 were clinical trials on human patients, 230 were reviews and 20 were case reports. Three authors reached a consensus on selecting the studies based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 95 research studies were included in this review. Results: Overall quality of life is severely impaired in patients with fibromyalgia. Comorbidities have a further negative impact on QoL. Substantial pain reductions resulting in improvement of QoL were observed with medications and non-medication interventions such as exercise, acupuncture, cognitive behavioral therapy, neurofeedback and multidisciplinary approach. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia and its comorbidities including pain have a considerable negative impact on the quality of life of fibromyalgia patients. Substantial or moderate pain reduction seems to improve quality of life. A multidisciplinary approach appears to be most beneficial in management of this multifaceted illness, but more studies are needed to develop specific interventions necessary to alleviate pain and sufferings in these patients.

並列關鍵字

Fibromyalgia ； quality of life ； pain ； pain management ； multidisciplinary approach

國際替代計量

全文下載

主題瀏覽