Prevalence and characteristics of juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome in pediatric rheumatic diseases: A comparative study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome (JFMS) in patients diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) with joint symptoms and compare them with a healthy control group.

Patients and methods: This retrospective study was conducted with 181 participants between January and April 2023. One hundred twenty-one patients with JIA or FMF diagnoses (71 females, 50 males; mean age: 15.6±2.1 years; range, 12 to 23 years) and 60 healthy individuals (36 females, 24 males; mean age: 14.5±1.6 years; range, 12 to 17 years) were included in the patient group and the control group, respectively. The pain and symptom assessment scale was applied for the JFMS diagnosis, and the output data were analyzed with the widespread pain index and symptom severity scale.

Results: Of the patient group, 57% (n=69) were diagnosed with FMF, and 43% (n=52) were diagnosed with JIA. When the two groups were compared with those diagnosed with JFMS, statistical significance was detected (p<0.05). Thirteen (87%) of those diagnosed with JFMS were female, and two (13%) were male, with a statistically significant difference.

Conclusion: In patients with JIA and FMF who complain of chronic musculoskeletal pain, tiredness, and weakness, JFMS diagnosis should always be considered in the clinical evaluation.

Citation: Özomay Baykal G, Kurtuluş D, Ata S, Sözeri B. Prevalence and characteristics of juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome in pediatric rheumatic diseases: A comparative study. Arch Rheumatol 2024;39(3):384-392. doi: 10.46497/ ArchRheumatol.2024.10562.

The study protocol was approved by the Umraniye Training and Research Hospital Clinical Research Ethics Committee (date: 22.12.2022, no: B.10.1.TKH.4.34.H.GP.0.01). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

A written informed consent was obtained from the patients and/or parents of the patients.

Study Conception and design was performed, final approval of the verison of the article to be published was performed, analysis and interpreteation of data was performed: G.Ö.B., B.S.; Acquisition of data was performed: G.Ö.B., D.K., S.A.; Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content was performed: G.Ö.B., D.K., B.S.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.