Manic spectrum symptoms are correlated to the severity of pain and the health-related quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia

Objective. We aimed at investigating the impact of lifetime manic spectrum symptoms on the severity of pain and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods. One hundred and sixty-seven patients with FM, assessed according to the ACR criteria, were consecutively enrolled. Psychiatric diagnoses were carried out following the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The severity of pain and the HRQoL of FM patients was measured by means of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (MOS SF-36); the mood spectrums symptomatology by means of the Mood Spectrum-Self Report (MOODS-SR). Results. A high rate of lifetime manic symptoms was detected and resulted as related to the Pain Visual Analogic Scale ("pain VAS") of the FIQ and the FIQ total scores as well as to the "bodily pain", and to the physical and mental component summary scores of the MOS SF-36, both in the whole sample (n = 167) and in FM patients without bipolar disorder (n = 160). Conclusion. Our results highlight the need to pay more attention to manic spectrum symptoms and features in FM patients, because of their relationship with the severity of pain and with a worse HRQoL.