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Nurses are at increased of developing pain sensitization syndromes due to stress and interrupted sleep. The prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) in nurses is unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of FM in nurses using different screening tools.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study conducted in King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC). Nurses were invited to fill a questionnaire. The fibromyalgia Rapid Screening tool (FIRST), Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire (FSQ) and London Fibromyalgia Epidemiology Study Screening Questionnaire (LFESSQ) were used to identify patients with FM. Descriptive analysis was used for demographics. Non-parametric tests were to compare PIT with and without FM.
Results:
A total of 335 nurses completed the questionnaire. They were mostly females (93.7%), married (64.5%) with a median (interquartile range) age and body mass index of 32 (10) years and 24.8 (4.7) respectively. Of those, 121 (36.1%) nurse admitted having body pain. The prevalence of FM using the FIRST, FSQ and LFESSQ were (1.8%), (0.6%) and (19.4%) respectively. None of them fulfilled the 3 criteria concurrently. Using the LFESSQ criteria, nurses with FM were more likely to complain from irritable bowel syndrome (p=0.018), dry mouth (p=0.026), chest pain (p=0.002) and headache (p<0.001). the underlying specialty had an impact on the prevalence of FM based on specialty was; emergency department (23.1%), clinics (17.2%), intensive care (10.6%), ward (5.3) and operation room (4.3%).
Conclusion: The prevalence of FM is variable among nurses based on the used screening tool. Educational programs and screening clinics are justified.
Alajmi S, Shahwan F, Bajuaifer Y, Al Ohaly R, Edrees M, Asiri A, Omair M. Prevalence of Fibromyalgia in Nurses; A Cross Sectional Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-fibromyalgia-in-nurses-a-cross-sectional-study/. Accessed November 2, 2022.
Barski L, Shafat T, Buskila Y, Amital H, Makulin Y, Shvarts B, Jotkowitz A, Buskila D. High prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome among Israeli nurses. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2020 Jan-Feb;38 Suppl 123(1):25-30. Epub 2019 Oct 29. PMID: 31694749.
Objectives: Stress has extensively been shown to trigger fibromyalgia syndrome (FM). Nursing is associated with high levels of stress. Our hypothesis was that nurses suffer from an increased prevalence of FM symptoms, and that these symptoms correlate with the levels of stress to which they are exposed in the course of their occupation.
Methods: The study was conducted as a targeted survey distributed to nursing staff in Soroka University Medical Centre, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire evaluating symptoms of FM, based on the current diagnostic criteria, which include the widespread pain index (WPI) and the symptom severity scale (SSS). Participants were further questioned regarding stressful experiences during their work and about post-traumatic symptoms as well as regarding work performance and motivation.
Results: 206 participants completed the study questionnaire (84.5% females and 15.5% males). Twenty (9.7%) participants of the sample fulfilled criteria for diagnosis of FM reaching rates among females and males of 10.9% and 3.1% respectively. The prevalence of FM in our study was related to age with the highest prevalence in the older age groups (p=0.012). FM symptoms were strongly correlated with work related stress and were strongly correlated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms. Work-performance parameters did not show a significant correlation with FM parameters.
Conclusions: FM is highly prevalent among nursing staff. Our findings point towards the possibility that work-related stress and traumatic events may play a major role in the development of FM symptoms among nurses. With aging this association is more significant.
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