Background/Purpose: Mindfulness is the ability to observe, describe, or be aware of present moment experiences without judgment or reactivity. Preliminary evidence suggests that interventions aimed at increasing mindfulness may be effective in reducing chronic pain as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression commonly experienced among patients with fibromyalgia. Our objective was to evaluate whether mindfulness is associated with the overall impact of fibromyalgia on physical and psychological impairment, sleep quality, self-efficacy, and quality of life.   

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of baseline data from our randomized trial comparing Tai Chi and aerobic exercise among patients with fibromyalgia as defined by the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Patients enrolled in the trial completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a 39-item, self-report questionnaire, in which higher total scores indicating higher levels of mindfulness in daily life. Patients also completed well-validated measures commonly used to assess patients with fibromyalgia (Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire [FIQR], Perceived Stress Scale [PSS], Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition [BDI-II], Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI], Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale Short Version [ASES-8] and Medical Outcomes Short Form-36 [SF-36]). We calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficients to evaluate hypothesized associations between mindfulness and measures of fibromyalgia impact on physical and psychological impairment, sleep quality, self-efficacy, and quality of life. 

Results: Our analysis included data from 81 patients with an average age of 52.04 (SD=11.92); 92% were female. All correlations were in the hypothesized direction. Patients reporting higher levels of mindfulness tended to report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by the PSS (r=-0.55, p<0.0001) and BDI-II (r=-0.49, p<0.0001), respectively. They also tended to report higher self-efficacy as well as higher quality of life as measured by the ASES-8 (r=0.26, p=0.02) and SF-36 Mental Component Summary (r=0.51, p<0.001), respectively. There were no significant correlations between mindfulness and the FIQR, PSQI, or SF-36 Physical Component Summary.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that mindfulness is associated with psychological symptoms, self-efficacy, and quality of life among patients with fibromyalgia. Mindfulness may help to change patients’ relationship to their symptoms and functional limitations through promotion of awareness and acceptance. Longitudinal studies are underway to evaluate whether changes in mindfulness are associated with changes in psychological symptoms, self-efficacy, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/mindfulness-is-associated-with-psychological-symptoms-self-efficacy-and-quality-of-life-among-patients-with-fibromyalgia/