Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is associated with depressive disorders.

to investigate characteristics of FMS in a cohort of young women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

30 young patients with PMS were included and compared with 26 women who attended a gynecological outpatient clinic. Assessment included demographics, clinical health assessment questionnaire (CLINHAQ), fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ), sleep and fatigue questionnaires, Sheehan disability scales, SF-36 assessment for QoL, visual analogue scale (VAS) and MINI questionnaires were completed. Each patient underwent a physical examination.

The FIQ score of the PMS group was 33.09±18.48 vs. 8.6±12.62 (p<0.001).. The global pain scale was 3.92±2.96 vs. 1.29±2.2 (p<0.005). A sleep questionnaire scored in the PMS group compared to 12.6±7.8 vs. 7.46±5.3 (p<0.01) in the controls. The tenderness was measured by the number of tender point as defined in the ACR criteria of the FMS 3.13±4.36 v. 0.46±1.1 in the PMS groups compared to the controls (p<0.005), five PMS patients and none in the controls had clinical established FMS. Psychiatric comorbidity was significantly more common in the PMS group affecting 16 of the 30 PMS patients compared to only 3 of the 26 controls (χ2(1)=10.85) (p<0.005).

In this study group of patients PMS we detected higher levels of tenderness, higher psychiatric comorbidity, higher disabilities and lower QoL. All of these correlated with have a lower pain threshold.