A Cross-Sectional Study of Fibromyalgia and Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS): Could There Be a Relationship?

Abstract

Background Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) is a syndrome characterized by a wide spectrum of symptoms emerging after clearance of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection. These symptoms include fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, cognitive dysfunction, and many other psychiatric symptoms. Given that fibromyalgia patients have similar symptoms, we conducted a web-based cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence and predictors of fibromyalgia patients who recovered from COVID-19. Methods Data were collected between the 9th and 19th of March 2022 using a web-based survey. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions gathering sociodemographic information, comorbid diseases and features of acute COVID-19 infection. Lastly, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) survey criteria completed the questionnaire. Results A final sample of 404 individuals (75% women) filled out the form. Of these, 80 (19.8%) satisfied the ACR survey criteria for fibromyalgia (93.8% women). A multivariate logistic regression model including demographic and clinical factors showed that female gender (OR: 6.557, 95% CI: 2.376 - 18.093, p = 0.001) and dyspnea (OR: 1.980, 95% CI: 1.146 - 3.420, p = 0.014) were the strongest predictors of being classified as having post-COVID-19 fibromyalgia. Bivariate correlation revealed that age (r = 0.200, p = 0.001) and duration of COVID-19 infection (r = 0.121, p = 0.015) were directly correlated with fibromyalgia symptom (FS) score. Conclusion Our data suggest that clinical features of fibromyalgia are common in patients who recovered from COVID-19 and that dyspnea and female gender increase the risk of developing post-COVID-19 fibromyalgia.