The Role of Walking in the Relationship between Catastrophizing and Fatigue in Women with Fibromyalgia.

Walking is one of the most beneficial treatments for fibromyalgia patients. However, adherence to walking behavior is low due to the initially associated symptoms (including pain and fatigue). Although the association of catastrophism with greater symptoms is known, the results regarding fatigue have not always been consistent. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether the association between catastrophism and fatigue could, in turn, be conditioned by whether the patients walk or not. Therefore, our goal was to explore the moderating effect of walking on the association between catastrophizing and fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 203 women with fibromyalgia. We used the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory to assess fatigue and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale to assess pain catastrophizing (differentiating between its three dimensions). An ad hoc item was used to evaluate walking (moderator). Lower scores for fatigue and pain catastrophizing were found among patients who walked versus those who did not. Walking moderated the relationship between rumination and fatigue (Beta = 0.16, t = 1.96, p = 0.049) and between magnification and fatigue (Beta = 0.22, t = 21.83, p = 0.047). Helplessness showed no direct or interaction effect for fatigue. Nevertheless, higher rumination and magnification were associated with higher fatigue only in patients who walked. Therefore, to promote adherence to walking and reduce the effects of catastrophizing on fatigue, it seems necessary to manage rumination and magnification among patients who walk.

Is Perfectionism Always Dysfunctional? Looking into Its Interaction with Activity Patterns in Women with Fibromyalgia.

The intrinsically adaptive or maladaptive nature of certain activity patterns in fibromyalgia (FM) has been put into question. The role of contextual factors related to their influence on functional limitation is required. Perfectionism complicates the ability to cope of these patients. The aim of the study has been to analyze the moderating role of perfectionism between activity patterns and functional limitation. The sample were 228 women with FM. Moderation analyses were conducted with the PROCESS Macro. Activity avoidance and excessive persistence were associated with poorer functionality, regardless of perfectionism. Pain avoidance and task persistence were more strongly associated with FM impact in women with high or moderate levels of perfectionism. In a clinical setting adapting the recommendations given to patients according to their level of perfectionism would be justified. Pain avoidance might be inadvisable at high levels of perfectionism, and task persistence is recommendable especially when perfectionism is high.

Exploring the contextual role of pain severity as a moderator of the relationship between activity patterns and the physical and mental functioning of women with fibromyalgia.

INTRODUCTION: In past years, and mostly due to contextual psychological therapies, it has been argued that particular behavioural patterns may be useful in certain contexts, but not in others. The goal of this study has been to explore whether pain severity is indeed a contextual factor influencing the relationship between two controversial activity patterns, namely pacing and persistence, and functionality in people with fibromyalgia. METHODS: Participants were 231 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia. A multivariate regression was conducted to explore the moderating role of pain severity in the relationship between activity patterns and outcomes (i.e. fibromyalgia impact and depressive symptoms). RESULTS: Excessive persistence (interaction: t = -2.45, p = 0.015) and pain-contingent persistence (interaction: t= -2.13, p = 0.034) were more strongly associated with fibromyalgia impact when people experienced less severe pain. Pacing for pain reduction was only significantly related to depressive symptoms at very severe (M = 10) pain levels (interaction: ß= -0.18, t= -2.73). CONCLUSIONS: The results here reported suggest that the context in which behaviour occurs is relevant when the utility of certain behaviour patterns is considered. The clinical implications of this are clear, as it would justify adapting the recommendations given to patients according to their pain severity status. SIGNIFICANCE: This manuscript shows that some activity patterns (i.e. pacing to conserve energy for valued activities) might be advisable regardless of pain levels. Conversely, some patterns might be especially recommended (i.e. pain-reduction pacing) or inadvisable (i.e. excessive and pain-contingent persistence) depending on pain levels (i.e. severe and mild pain, respectively).

Olfactory and cognitive functioning in patients with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a complex syndrome characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain. Previous research has found impaired olfactory function and cognitive deficits in patients with fibromyalgia. In non-clinical population (middle-aged and elderly populations) an association has been found between olfactory function and cognitive impairment. Therefore, olfactory impairment identification could be considered as a reliable and early marker predicting the decline of cognitive function in mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, the relationship between cognitive and olfactory functioning has not been studied in fibromyalgia patients. The aims of the study have been to analyze the cognitive and olfactory functioning and their association in a sample of women with fibromyalgia in comparison to women without a chronic pain disease. A transversal study was conducted with fibromyalgia patients (n = 146) and women without a chronic pain disease (n = 122). Data were collected using the WAIS-III (cognitive functioning) and the CCCRC test (olfactory functioning). Descriptive analysis, Student's t test and chi-square tests were conducted. There were significant differences in perceptive organization and processing speed, and in odour identification, odour threshold and total CCCRC score; the lower scores were for fibromyalgia patients. Among the fibromyalgia patients there were significant differences in the verbal scale, the manipulative scale, the total scale and processing speed between normosmic and hyposmic patients, the lowest scores were for hyposmic patients. Although previous literature has shown that self-reports by fibromyalgia patients inform about an enhanced olfactory acuity, the current study suggests that there are deficits in olfactory functioning in these patients. Also, the relationship between olfactory and cognitive functioning in fibromyalgia patients, due to the lack of previous studies, suggests a new line of research. Taken together, these results suggest that olfactory functioning could be included in a bio-psycho-social approach of fibromyalgia patients, because of the association with cognitive functioning.

Attachment styles, pain intensity and emotional variables in women with fibromyalgia.

This study aims to explore the relations between attachment styles and pain intensity and certain emotional variables (anxiety, depression and alexithymia) in a sample of fibromyalgia patients, in comparison with healthy women. Data were collected from 146 women with fibromyalgia and 122 healthy women. The variables studied were attachment style, pain intensity, anxiety, depression and alexithymia dimensions. Patients with fibromyalgia showed lower percentages of secure attachment style (69.9% vs. 86%) whilst showing higher avoidant attachment (19.8% vs. 7.4%), as well as increased numbers of anxious-ambivalent attachment (10.3% vs. 6.6%) than healthy women (X2  = 9.915, p = .007). Also, fibromyalgia patients showed significantly higher scores in two of the insecure attachment factors (p < .000; p = .020) and lower scores on the secure attachment factor (p = .008) in comparison with healthy women. Higher scores of alexithymia were found in women showing anxious-ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles in comparison with those showing a secure attachment style, regardless of the group they belonged to. In fibromyalgia patients, higher anxiety (p = .005) was found among the women with anxious-ambivalent attachment styles (Mean = 15.15; SD = 1.15) in comparison with those with secure attachment style (Mean = 11.18; SD = .45). No relation was found between attachment style and pain intensity. Avoidant attachment seems to carry out a contradictory role and warrants further research. The results found seem to highlight the need for the Attachment-Diathesis Model of Chronic Pain to include attachment styles as a predictor of the emotional experience of pain in fibromyalgia patients.