The influence of social support on pain, symptom severity, and quality of life in fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine the potential effects of social support levels and different types of social support on pain and symptom severity, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

A total of 169 female patients (mean age: 49.6±9.3 years; range, 20 to 76 years) diagnosed with FM were included between June 2023 and November 2023. Based on the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS), those scoring below the 25th percentile were categorized as the poor social support group (PSS; n=42) and those above the 25th percentile as the normal social support group (NSS; n=127). Outcome measures were Visual Analog Scale (VAS), pressure pain threshold (PPTh) and pressure pain tolerance (PPTo), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) scores.

RESULTS

The PSS group had higher FIQ scores (p<0.0001), lower PPTh (p=0.003) and PPTo (p<0.0001) levels, and higher VAS scores (p=0.01). Significant differences were found in the NHP subscales of pain, emotional reaction, social isolation, and sleep in favor of the NSS group. Most types of social support were found to be negatively correlated with VAS and positively correlated with pressure-related pain measurements. Only positive social interaction subscale was not correlated with VAS (r=-0.13, p=0.08), and emotional/informational support subscale was not correlated with PPTh (r=0.14, p=0.06).

CONCLUSION

Our study results suggest that low social support in FM patients is associated with higher pain perception, lower pain threshold, and quality of life.