HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN FIBROMYALGIA AND REFRACTORY ANGINA PECTORIS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO CHRONIC NON-MALIGNANT PAIN DISORDERS

• Objective: To compare health-related quality of life in 2 different populations with chronic pain: patients with fibromyalgia and patients with refractory angina pectoris. Previous separate studies have indicated that these patient groups report different impacts of pain on health-related quality of life. Methods: The Short-Form 36 was used to assess health-related quality of life. In order to adjust for age and gender differences between the groups, both patient groups were compared with age- and gender-matched normative controls. The difference in health-related quality of life between the 2 patient groups was assessed by transforming the Short-Form 36 subscale scores to a z-score. Results: The patients with fibromyalgia (n=203) reported poorer health-related quality of life in all the subscale scores of Short-Form 36 (p < 0.05-0.0001) than the patients with refractory angina (n = 146) when both groups were compared with their corresponding normal population (z-score). Conclusion: Patients with fibromyalgia experience greater impairment in health-related quality of life compared with the normal population than do patients with refractory angina pectoris, despite the fact that the latter have a potentially life-threatening disease. The great impairment in health-related quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia should be taken into consideration when planning rehabilitation.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine (hsv//eng)

Keyword

angina pectoris

fibromyalgia

chronic pain

quality of life

RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

POOL EXERCISE

SF-36

POPULATION

REHABILITATION

CLASSIFICATION

VALIDITY

CRITERIA

PROGRAM

TRIAL

Medicin/Teknik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)