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Is pain the only symptom in patients with benign joint hypermobility syndrome?

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Abstract

The aims of this study were to evaluate pain, depression level, fatigue, sleep, and quality of life (QoL) among patients with benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) and to compare their results with those of healthy controls. The study involved 115 patients and 114 healthy volunteers. Pain level was rated using visual analogue scale (VAS) for all patients. Depression level, fatigue, sleep quality, and QoL of all the participants were evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Short Form-36 (SF-36), respectively. VAS value was 6.29 ± 0.94 in the patient group. Comparison of two groups showed that there were statistically significant differences between the patient group and the control group with respect to BDI, total CIS, PSQI scores, SF-36 subscales (physical function, role physical, bodily pain, general health, role emotional, and mental health), and mental component summary (p < 0.001). While pain is the predominant symptom among BJHS patients, depression, fatigue, impaired sleep, and QoL also commonly occur. Thus, all of these components should be taken into account when assessing patients with BJHS.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof. Funda Levendoglu, M.D. (Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Konya Selcuk University School of Medicine) for her valuable insight and contributions to the manuscript.

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The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to İlknur Albayrak.

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Albayrak, İ., Yilmaz, H., Akkurt, H.E. et al. Is pain the only symptom in patients with benign joint hypermobility syndrome?. Clin Rheumatol 34, 1613–1619 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2610-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2610-6

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