Patterns of performance within fibromyalgia: Identifying subgroups.

摘要

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a multisystem disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and a host of other symptoms. Although FM was originally conceptualized as a musculoskeletal disorder consisting primarily of physical symptoms, it is now understood that individuals with FM experience a host of concordant symptoms including a decline in cognitive functioning, and difficulty with psychological health (Bennett, Jones, Turk, Russell, & Matallana, 2007). This study sought to investigate the possible existence of subgroups within an FM sample based on performance data gathered through the administration of physical and cognitive performance measures, as well as self report psychological measures. Participants (n=57) were recruited from the general community and were required to provide documentation of having met the criteria for diagnosis of FM. Analysis was completed using Ward's method of hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward, 1963). A four cluster solution was chosen for its level of interpretability. Cluster I participants exhibited high physical and cognitive performance and low psychological symptoms. Cluster II participants exhibited low physical and cognitive performance and high psychological symptoms. Cluster III participants exhibited moderate physical and cognitive performance and low psychological symptoms. Cluster IV participants exhibited moderate physical and cognitive performance and high psychological symptoms. The results of this study support the existence of subgroups amongst the fibromyalgia population based on psychological symptoms and levels of cognitive and physical performance. These results provide a better understanding of the variability of symptoms experienced by individuals with fibromyalgia.