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Are there differences in quality of life, symptomatology and functional capacity among different obesity classes in women with fibromyalgia? The al-Ándalus project

Rheumatology International volume 34, pages 811–821 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Obesity may influence fibromyalgia severity. The present study aimed to examine fibromyalgia (FM) symptomatology, quality of life (QoL), and functional capacity across obesity class categories. A total sample of 208 obese FM patients and 108 obese control women were included in the study. The sample was further categorized following the international criteria for obesity classes: obesity I (BMI 30.0–34.99 kg/m2), obesity II (BMI 35.0–39.99 kg/m2), and obesity III (BMI ≥40.0 kg/m2). QoL was assessed by means of the Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and FM symptomatology with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Standardized field-based fitness tests were used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, agility, and balance. All the dimensions of QoL, as measured by SF-36, were worse in obese FM patients compared to the obese control group (all p < 0.001). Obese FM patients also scored worse in the entire functional capacity tests studied (all p < 0.001). Except for the higher FIQ-depression across obesity status categories (p < 0.05), no differences between obesity status groups were found in QoL and FM impact. However, upper-body muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness were worse across obesity class categories and pairwise comparisons showed differences mainly between obesity I and II (p < 0.05, and p < 0.01, respectively). The absence of clear differences in QoL and FM symptomatology among obesity classes suggests that just avoiding any obese status may be a useful advice for a better management of the disease. Nevertheless, upper-body muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness, which are important health indicators highly related to the mortality risk, were worse across obesity categories.

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Acknowledgments

The study was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (I+D+I DEP2010-15639), the Granada Research of Excelence Initiative on Biohealth (GREIB), Campus BioTic, University of Granada, and the European University of Madrid (2010/04RM). This study is also being supported by grants from the University of Granada and the Spanish Ministry of Education (AP2010-0963, AP2009-3173).

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    V. A. Aparicio, V. Segura-Jiménez, I. C. Álvarez-Gallardo, F. Estévez-López, D. Camiletti-Moirón, M. Delgado-Fernández & A. Carbonell-Baeza

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    V. A. Aparicio & D. Camiletti-Moirón

  3. Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    V. A. Aparicio & D. Camiletti-Moirón

  4. Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Science of Education, University of Jaen, Jaén, Spain

    P. A. Latorre

  5. Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Science, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain

    A. Carbonell-Baeza

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  1. V. A. Aparicio
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  2. V. Segura-Jiménez
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  3. I. C. Álvarez-Gallardo
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  7. M. Delgado-Fernández
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  8. A. Carbonell-Baeza
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Correspondence to V. A. Aparicio.

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Aparicio, V.A., Segura-Jiménez, V., Álvarez-Gallardo, I.C. et al. Are there differences in quality of life, symptomatology and functional capacity among different obesity classes in women with fibromyalgia? The al-Ándalus project. Rheumatol Int 34, 811–821 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-013-2908-8

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Keywords

  • Cardiorespiratory fitness
  • Strength
  • Pain
  • Obese
  • SF-36
  • FIQ
  • Women