Background & Aims

Pain does not solely result from mechanical stimulation of nociceptive receptors but is also linked to psychosocial factors, especially in fibromyalgia. Currently, several global health organizations have emphasized the importance of addressing spirituality in clinical practice, as patients themselves claim its effectiveness in coping with their conditions. Medication may alleviate pain but does not contribute to personal and behavioral perspective changes. Thus, Religious Coping (RC) is among the most widely used methods in chronic pain conditions. Additionally, optimism (OTM) is associated with better physical health, longevity, and improved symptoms of depression, with lower suicide rates. Therefore, this research aimed to identify whether there is a relationship between spirituality and optimism with the impact of fibromyalgia in individuals living with this condition.

Methods

This is an observational cross-sectional study with a sample of 217 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia in a public health service specialized in pain management. The tests were administered by the same group of trained researchers. The materials used included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the WHOQOL-SRPB (ESP), and the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R). Prevalence was calculated for statistical analysis, and the Chi-Square test was performed to determine the p-value for FIQ. Subsequently, a binomial logistic regression was conducted, including both raw and adjusted analyses, calculating the Odds Ratio with respective 95% confidence intervals. An internal control group was created among patients with higher and lower fibromyalgia impact, higher and lower optimism, and higher and lower spirituality. The analyses were conducted using Stata version 16 with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.

Results

The internal control group for fibromyalgia impact comprised mild and moderate FIQ (FIQ < 59), accounting for 14.29% of patients, while the comparison group had severe FIQ (FIQ >= 59), totaling 85, with a mean FIQ of 75.06±14.5. Regarding optimism, the internal control group consisted of patients with low or medium scores (LOT-R < 19), representing 61.29%, while the comparison group had high scores (LOT-R >= 19), with 38.71% of patients and a mean LOT-R of 15.49±7.43. Finally, spirituality divided groups for raw and adjusted analysis: an internal control group with lower spirituality (< 139 points, n=115) and a comparison group with higher spirituality (>=139 points, n=102). There was no statistically relevant result in the FIQxESP analysis. In the raw FIQxOTM analysis, it was evident that patients with a higher FIQ had a 59% lower chance of having good optimism, while in the adjusted analysis, patients with a higher FIQ had a 79% lower chance of the same outcome.

Conclusions

The obtained results indicate that optimism is a crucial mediator for the impact of fibromyalgia, a correlation supported by the literature. Spirituality, on the other hand, did not show a significant correlation with the variable, but, according to previous literature, there may be other types of correspondences between the variables. The findings of this study may contribute to the execution of further longitudinal research addressing the relationship between spirituality and/or optimism and the impact of fibromyalgia, employing a different methodology to establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

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Presenting Author

João Batista Santos Garcia

Poster Authors

Lucas Soares BRITO

Undergraduate degree

University Federal of Maranhão

Lead Author

Mikaele Nala Costa dos SANTOS

University Federal of Maranhão

Lead Author

Ana Carolina Silva ROCHA

University Federal of Maranhão

Lead Author

Joao Batista Garcia

Federal University of Maranhao

Lead Author

Topics

  • Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Fibromyalgia