Life among Chinese fibromyalgia patients: a cross-sectional study

Objective This study is to examine the impact of age on the clinical characteristics, fibromyalgia-related symptom severity and quality of life (QOL) among Chinese fibromyalgia patients. Methods A packet of questionnaires on demographics, medical history, and severity of six major symptoms of fibromyalgia (i.e., pain, fatigue, sleep quality, depression, stress, and QOL) was completed by 124 Chinese patients. The patients were stratified into three groups by age (32 (25.8%) “young” patients, ≤ 39 years; 73 (58.9%) “middle-age” patients, 40–59 years; and 19 (15.3%) “older” patients, ≥ 60 years). Analysis of covariance was conducted and adjusted for body mass index and symptom fibromyalgia duration. Results The majority of patients in this study were women (107, 86.3%), and the mean age was 49.4 years (SD 10.8 years). Pairwise comparisons among the three age groups found that the young and middle-aged patients were significantly more troubled than the older patients by their symptoms in several categories: morning tiredness ( P ≤ 0.012), depression ( P ≤ 0.002), anxiety ( P ≤ 0.004), mental health index ( P ≤ 0.002), and mental component summary score ( P ≤ 0.017). The middle-aged patients reported more trouble than the older patients with regard to social functioning ( P = 0.008), emotional roles ( P = 0.012), depression ( P = 0.012), and sleep quality ( P = 0.017). The young patients exhibited the highest levels of current experienced stress (young vs. old, P = 0.013). Conclusion This study has identified that middle-aged Chinese fibromyalgia patients exhibited less compromise of their QOL than did their older peers. This discrepancy begs a logical explanation and deserves further study. Key Points • This is the first clinical study to show the potential effect of age on fibromyalgia patients in China. • Characteristics, symptom severity, and QOL differ in different age groups. • The younger patients are, the worse their quality of life.