Prevalence of fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain in community-dwelling elderly subjects living in São Paulo,Brazil

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic widespread pain (CWP) in community-dwelling elderly individuals living in São Paulo, to assess the spectrum of problems related to these diseases using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and to correlate the FIQ with the number of tender points and with pain threshold.

Methods

Our sample consisted of 361 individuals (64% women, 36% men, mean age of 73.3 ± 5.7 years). Individuals were classified into four groups: FM (according to American College of Rheumatology criteria), CWP, regional pain (RP) and no pain (NP). Pain characteristics and dolorimetry for 18 tender points and the FIQ were assessed.

Results

The prevalence of FM was 5.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.4–5.7], and the prevalence of CWP was 14.1% (95% CI: 10.5–17.7%). The frequency of RP was 52.6% and the prevalence of NP was 27.7%. FIQ scores were higher in people with FM (44.5), followed by CWP (31.4), RP (18.1) and NP (5.5) (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the domains of the FIQ and the number of tender points (p < 0.05), and a negative correlation between FIQ score and pain threshold (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

In our elderly subjects, the prevalence of FM was slightly higher compared to previously reported studies, and CWP was around 14%. The spectrum of problems related to chronic pain was more severe in FM followed by CWP, strongly suggesting that these conditions should be diagnosed and adequately treated in older individuals.