This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Hypothalamic-pituitary disorders increased risk for fibromyalgia-associated symptoms
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disorders appeared to be at increased risk for fibromyalgia-associated symptoms, according to recent study results.
Researchers in Germany sent a questionnaire for evaluating fibromyalgia-associated symptoms to 121 patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disorders (HPD; mean age, 55.4 years; 61 men) from an endocrine outpatient clinic. A control group of 115 patients (mean age, 56.9 years; 58 men) had cardiac diseases, including coronary heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, chronic heart failure, cardiac valve disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertensive cardiac disease and arrhythmias.
Patients with HPD had more frequent fibromyalgia-associated symptoms involving muscular discomfort compared with controls (53.7% vs. 35.7%; P=.003). Autonomic symptoms were more prevalent in the HPD cohort compared with controls, in particular, cold hands, P=.039; flatulence, P=.022; and tiredness, P=.017. Patients with HDP also reported swollen and painful finger joints more often than controls (P=.002).
When patients with hypothalamic-pituitary hormone excess syndromes were compared with patients with a pituitary pathology without hormonal excess, no differences were detected regarding fibromyalgia-associated symptoms. Treatment modality for pituitary disease also was not associated with the fibromyalgia-associated symptom prevalence.
“Rheumatologists should consider such endocrine disorders in patients evaluated for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS),” the researchers concluded. “It remains to be clarified though whether fibromyalgia-like symptoms in the HPD group reflect pre-existing vulnerability to FMS, or rather represent central changes promoting the occurrence of FMS.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts