Controlled follow-up study of physical and psychosocial functioning of adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome

Objectives. Currently, there are no prospective studies exploring the prognosis of patients with juvenile primary FM syndrome (JPFS) or their physical, emotional and social outcomes as they enter the early adult years. The primary objective of this study was to assess long-term outcomes of a paediatric sample of clinically referred JPFS patients and their matched healthy controls. Methods. Participants were 48 youths (current mean age = 19 years) diagnosed with JPFS in childhood or adolescence and 43 healthy controls matched in age, gender and race. The average length of follow-up was 3.67 years (range 2–6 years). Participants completed online (web-based) self-report questionnaires about current pain and physical symptoms, health status, anxiety, depressive symptoms and current and past treatments. Results. Results showed that 62.5% of participants in the JPFS group continued to experience widespread pain and 60.4% reported having all the cardinal features of FM syndrome (including widespread pain, poor sleep and fatigue) at follow-up. The JPFS group reported significantly lower scores on all measures of health status and physical functioning compared with healthy controls and significantly greater symptoms of anxiety and depression. Conclusion. The results of this controlled follow-up study demonstrate that symptoms of FM appear to be chronic in a majority of clinically referred JPFS patients and the associated physical and emotional impairment can also be persistent. Implications for treatment and the need for further prospective longitudinal studies are discussed.