You need to know the danger of smoking with fibromyalgia.
This study looked at the effect of smoking on fibromyalgia. The researchers found that patients with fibromyalgia who smoked were more likely to report greater pain and level of disability in comparison to the patients who did not smoke. There was no direct link found between smoking and fibromyalgia. The researchers speculated that the increase in pain levels and symptoms in smokers was because the smoking intensified other co-morbidities such as depression.
The Research
Pain Med. 2015 Jul;16(7):1433-42. doi: 10.1111/pme.12747. Epub 2015 Mar 20.
Associations Between Pain, Current Tobacco Smoking, Depression, and Fibromyalgia Status Among Treatment-Seeking Chronic Pain Patients.
Goesling J1, Brummett CM1, Meraj TS2, Moser SE1, Hassett AL1, Ditre JW3.
Author information:
· 1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, University of Michigan, Back & Pain Center, Burlington Building 1, Suite 310, 325 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
· 2Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
· 3Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
As smoking impacts physiological pathways in the central nervous system, it is important to consider the association between smoking and fibromyalgia, a pain condition caused predominantly by central nervous system dysfunction. The objectives were to assess the prevalence of current smoking among treatment-seeking chronic pain patients with (FM+) and without (FM-) a fibromyalgia-like phenotype; test the individual and combined influence of smoking and fibromyalgia on pain severity and interference; and examine depression as a mediator of these processes.
METHODS:
Questionnaire data from 1566 patients evaluated for a range of conditions at an outpatient pain clinic were used. The 2011 Survey Criteria for Fibromyalgia were used to assess the presence of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
RESULTS:
Current smoking was reported by 38.7% of FM+ patients compared to 24.7% of FM- patients. FM+ smokers reported higher pain and greater interference compared to FM+ nonsmokers, FM- smokers, and FM- nonsmokers. There was no interaction between smoking and fibromyalgia. Significant indirect effects of fibromyalgia and smoking via greater depression were observed for pain severity and interference.
CONCLUSIONS:
Current smoking and positive fibromyalgia status were associated with greater pain and impairment among chronic pain patients, possibly as a function of depression. Although FM+ smokers report the most negative clinical symptomatology (i.e., high pain, greater interference) smoking does not appear to have a unique association with pain or functioning in FM+ patients, rather the effect is additive. The 38.7% smoking rate in FM+ patients is high, suggesting FM+ smokers present a significant clinical challenge.
© 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine.
PMCID: PMC4765172 Free PMC Article
