Burhan Fatih KOÇYİĞİT1, Mazlum Serdar AKALTUN2

1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Faculty of Medicine, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kahramanmaraş Necip Fazıl State Hospital, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Keywords: Fear of movement, fibromyalgia, kinesiophobia, vitamin D

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to compare kinesiophobia levels between patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and healthy volunteers and to investigate the factors associated with kinesiophobia in FMS.

Patients and methods: This case-control study included 88 female patients with FMS (mean age 41.61 years; range 21 to 61 years) and 67 female healthy volunteers (mean age 41.34 years; range 19 to 59 years). The participants’ age, body mass index (BMI), and educational status were recorded. Patients were evaluated using a visual analog scale for pain, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) for disease activity, the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) for depression level, and the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) for kinesiophobia. Additionally, the patients’ serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured.

Results: No significant differences were found between the patient and control groups in terms of age, BMI, and educational status (p>0.05). The mean TSK scores were 42.0±7.6 in the patient group and 37.2±8.8 in the control group. TSK score was significantly higher in the patient group (p<0.001). BMI levels, FIQ scores, and vitamin D concentrations were significantly associated with TSK scores according to the linear regression analysis (p<0.05). However, age, symptom duration, and HAM-D scores were not found to be associated with TSK scores (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Kinesiophobia scores were significantly higher in patients with FMS. Physicians should focus on kinesiophobia when evaluating patients with FMS and inform patients about the importance and treatment strategies of kinesiophobia.

Citation: Koçyiğit BF, Akaltun MS. Kinesiophobia Levels in Fibromyalgia Syndrome and the Relationship Between Pain, Disease Activity, Depression. Arch Rheumatol 2020;35(2):214-219.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.