Evaluation of affective temperament and anxiety-depression levels in fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: Fibromyalgia (FM) patients have higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders than healthy controls. Affective temperament features are subclinical manifestations of mood disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the affective temperaments of FM patients and investigate their association with depression and anxiety levels and clinical findings. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included FM patients and healthy controls. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to determine patient anxiety and depression levels, and the Temperament Scale of Memphis, Pisa and San Diego, self-administered version was applied to assess affective temperaments in all subjects. Disease severity was assessed in FM patients with the Fibromyalgia Criteria and Severity Scales and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Differences between groups were evaluated using Student’s t-tests. Correlations among parameters were performed. RESULTS: This study involved 38 patients with FM (30 female) and 30 healthy controls (25 female). Depressive, anxious and cyclothymic temperaments were significantly higher in FM patients than healthy controls. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between HADS depression score and all temperaments except hyperthymic, as well as between HADS anxiety score and cyclothymic and anxious temperaments. HADS depression and anxiety scores were correlated with symptom severity. We found a higher risk of depression and anxiety among FM patients with higher FIQ scores. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to evaluate affective temperament features of FM patients. Evaluating temperamental traits in FM patients may help clinicians determine which patients are at risk for depression and anxiety disorders.