Session Information
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2015
Title: Fibromyalgia, Soft Tissue Disorders, Regional and Specific Clinical Pain Syndromes Poster I
Session Type: ACR Poster Session A
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: We inquired about hypervigilence and hypersensitivity to various environmental stresses in patients with fibromyalgia and in rheumatic disease controls.
Methods: 103 fibromyalgia patients with fibromyalgia and 124 rheumatic disease controls without fibromyalgia followed in a rheumatology office practice filled out a questionnaire regarding their sensitivity to various environmental factors, including noises and loud sounds; light, certain artificial lighting or changes in brightness; certain odors and fragrances; cold temperatures; heat; busy, chaotic, or crowded atmospheres; weather or barometric pressure changes.
Results: See Chart
Conclusion: In every category of environmental stress, fibromyalgia patients were more sensitive than rheumatic disease controls. This supports the theory that fibromyalgia patients have a form of hypervigilence and are more sensitive to environmental stresses. Whether this hypervigilence was present before the onset of fibromyalgia is not assessed by this questionnaire, but hypervigilence and sensitivity to environmental stress potentially may play a role in both the etiology and exacerbation of symptoms in fibromyalgia.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Katz RS, Davis K, Kwan L, Polyak JL. Hypervigilence: Patients with Fibromyalgia Often Appear Very Sensitive to Environmental Stresses [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/hypervigilence-patients-with-fibromyalgia-often-appear-very-sensitive-to-environmental-stresses/. Accessed .« Back to 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/hypervigilence-patients-with-fibromyalgia-often-appear-very-sensitive-to-environmental-stresses/