Resumen

MAYORGA BUIZA, M.J. et al. Impact of a health education program on patients with fibromyalgia. Rev. Soc. Esp. Dolor [online]. 2010, vol.17, n.5, pp.227-232. ISSN 1134-8046.

Objectives: To assess the impact of a health education program on the quality of life and frequency of clinic visits on patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Material and method: A prospective clinical study on a volunteer cohort before a health intervention. Setting: Health Centre A Alcala de Guadaira, Seville, Spain, which covers a population of 75,000 inhabitants. The population group was based on the number of patients diagnosed with FM by a rheumatologist or area resident according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology of 1990, who attended our clinic due to their disease in the last year, excluding those who suffered severe rheumatic diseases. A clinical assessment protocol was completed. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Spanish version (SFIQ) was used to assess the quality of life, the Medical Outcomes Study for the perception of social support, and for the evaluation of anxiety-depression symptoms, the Goldberg Anxiety-depression Scale (GADS) was used. Demographic data, occupational aspects, type of sensation, number of clinic visits in the past year for this reason, concomitant illnesses, and type and number of drugs taken. After collecting the data, the sample was randomly distributed into intervention groups. The participants were divided into 6 groups of 12, and they attended four 1-hour sessions of health education per month, at weekly intervals. The sessions contained the following: a) general information on the disease; b) physical-rehabilitation/physical exercise measures and postural hygiene, and c) relaxation techniques (the E. Jacobson technique was used). After one month of intervention, the SFIQ was completed again by all the study participants. The anxiety-depression symptoms were also measured according to GADS. We recorded the frequency of visits for one year after the intervention. Results: There were 114 patients diagnosed with FM in our health centre; all were women with a mean age of 43.05 years, with 70% being housewives who did not drink or smoke. A total of 86.8% regularly took anti-inflammatory drugs and/or analgesics, 74.6% antidepressants and 77% tranquillisers, with 25% taking 3 or more drugs simultaneously. The great majority, 89% did not do any regular exercise. The main symptoms referred to were, neck pain, back pain and sleep disorders in 86%. Depression was the most common comorbidity found (86%), followed by anxiety (82%), high blood pressure (64%), and diabetes mellitus (43%). The mean S-FIQ score was 52.51. Half of them had a good social support network, with 3 patients totally lacking support. The mean frequency of visits was 18.35 per year. After the intervention, we found a decrease in the S-FIQ score (P<0.05) and a reduction of up to 60% in the number of clinic visits for this reason (P<0.005). There was a notable improvement in the anxiety and depression symptoms (P<0.005). Conclusions: Health education for patients with FM, changes their quality of life perception, increases their knowledge of their disease, thus decreasing their dependency on health services. There is also tendency to decrease anxiety and depression symptoms.

Palabras clave : Fibromyalgia; Quality of life; Frequency of clinic visits.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )