The oracle study - fibromyalgia, prevalence and severity in the hospital setting in the Pakistani population

OBJECTIVETo assess the prevalence and severity of fibromyalgia in hospital-visiting patients. METHODSThe cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan, from July, 2018, to January, 2019, and comprised patients aged 18-75 years of either gender. Demographic information, comorbidities and previous medications were recorded for each patient. The modified American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria 2010-11 for fibromyalgia diagnosis. If diagnosed, the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire was administered to assess its severity. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. RESULTSOf the 750 hospital-visiting patients, fibromyalgia was diagnosed in 250(33.3%); 190(76%) of them being females (p0.05). Menarche at a later age and menstrual irregularity were associated with fibromyalgia severity (p