Session Information
Date: Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Title: Fibromyalgia, Soft Tissue Disorders, Regional and Specific Clinical Pain Syndromes Poster II
Session Type: ACR Poster Session C
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose:
Similar to other chronic disorders, Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) poses a major challenge for patients coping capacities and extracts a far-reaching cost on functioning and quality of life. Various aspects of resilience are utilized by individuals coping with chronic health disorders and previous research points to the positive effects of faith, religiosity and spirituality as tools for coping with illness. However, the role played by these factors in coping with chronic pain such as FMS has not previously been studied. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the link between religiosity and spirituality and the outcomes of FMS.
Methods:
Fifty five FMS patients (ACR criteria) attending a tertiary rheumatology clinic were recruited. Demographic data was registered. Level of spirituality/religiosity was estimated by the validated Hebrew version of the Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness (SpREUK) Questionnaire for Religiosity, Spirituality and Health, which contains 5 domains. Locus of control (LOC) was evaluated by the Locus of control questionnaire. FMS related outcome measures included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) (Validated Hebrew version), the SF-36, and the Beck Depression Index (BDI), assessing depression and anxiety.
Results:
A significant negative correlation was found between two domains of the SpREUK (“search for meaningful support” and “trust in higher guidance”) and domains of the SF-36: “Role limitation due to physical health” and “Role limitation due to emotional health”(p<0.05). When comparing patients on basis of religious sector (secular, conservative, religious) secular patients showed significantly higher scores on SF-36 domains of “Role limitation due to emotional health” and “General health” compared with other sectors (p<0.05).
No significant correlation was found between LOC (internal versus external) and FMS outcome measures. No significant correlation was found between SpREUK domains and the BDI.
Conclusion:
In the current study, higher levels of religiosity/spirituality appeared to be inversely correlated with specific outcome measures of FMS. Unlike other chronic medical conditions, FMS patients do not appear to gain benefit from high levels of religiosity or spirituality; conversely, more severe FMS patients may be more prone to turn to religiosity/spirituality for support, so it is not possible to determine the direction of a casual relation. Chronic pain may pose a unique challenge for the faith of religious individuals who are obliged to cope with their suffering in context of a religious frame of beliefs. Physicians treating FMS patients should be aware of the impact of religious belief and spirituality on the physical and mental health in these patients.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Aloush V, Hazan E, Shorer R, Furer V, Elkayam O, Ablin JN. Relationship between Religiosity /Spirituality and Physical and Mental Outcomes in Fibromyalgia Patients [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/relationship-between-religiosity-spirituality-and-physical-and-mental-outcomes-in-fibromyalgia-patients/. Accessed .« Back to 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/relationship-between-religiosity-spirituality-and-physical-and-mental-outcomes-in-fibromyalgia-patients/