Fatigue Not a Factor in Fibromyalgia Pain, Study Says

THURSDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) — Poor sleep is not a significant predictor of pain intensity and duration in patients with fibromyalgia, a new study says.

Fibromyalgia patients often have difficulty sleeping, and University of Florida researchers wanted to determine whether lack of sleep is associated with higher levels of pain in these patients.

The study included 74 adults with fibromyalgia who were followed for 14 days. The patients kept sleep diaries describing each night’s sleep, and rated their pain every evening.

The results showed that the four measures of sleep used in the study failed to predict pain levels. The effects of impaired sleep, such as fatigue and inactivity, may play more important roles in fibromyalgia patients’ pain levels than sleep duration or insomnia, the researchers said.

The study appears in the current issue of The Journal of Pain.

Previous research has shown that factors such as negative mood and the number of localized pain areas are significant predictors of pain in fibromyalgia patients.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about fibromyalgia.