News - Daytime Hypersomnolence Linked To Severity Of Fibromyalgia Symptoms

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Daytime Hypersomnolence Linked To Severity Of Fibromyalgia Symptoms

A DGReview of : " Hypersomnolence in fibromyalgia syndrome "

Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology

05/02/2002

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Daytime hypersomnolence in fibromyalgia syndrome patients is linked with

more severe fibromyalgia symptoms.

Investigators from Azienda Ospedaliera, Polo Universitario L. Sacco in

Milan, Italy, studied 30 consecutive fibromyalgia syndrome patients.

Patients completed a sleep questionnaire and underwent lung function tests

and polysomnography. The Epworth sleepiness scale was used to measure sleep

complaints and daytime hypersomnolence. Pain, fatigue, anxiety and

depression were evaluated using the visual analog scale.

Results showed that patients complaining of daytime sleepiness had more

severe fibromyalgia symptoms, including higher numbers of tender joints,

higher subjective pain scores and greater fatigue.

Also, patients with daytime hypersomnolence had less efficient sleep,

including less stage 3 and stage 4 sleep and twice as many arousals per hour

of sleep, compared with fibromyalgia patients without daytime

hypersomnolence.

The diffusing capacity of the lung showed greater impairment and periodic

breathing occurred more often in those fibromyalgia syndrome patients with

hypersomnolence. The apnea/hypoapnea index was not affected, but

desaturations per hour of sleep were more common in patients reporting

daytime hypersomnolence. Pulmonary volumes were similar between fibromyalgia

syndrome patients with and without hypersomnolence.

The investigators conclude that the occurrence of daytime hypersomnolence is

linked to more severe fibromyalgia symptoms and polysomnographic alterations

in fibromyalgia syndrome patients.

Clin Exp Rheumatol 2002; 20: 69-72