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Ageing influence in the evolution of strength and muscle mass in women with fibromyalgia: the al-Ándalus project

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Abstract

Fibromyalgia is associated with physical disabilities in daily activities. Moreover, patients with fibromyalgia present similar levels of functional capacity and physical condition than elderly people. The aim of this study was to analyse the evolution of strength and muscle mass in women with fibromyalgia along ageing. A total sample of 492 fibromyalgia patients and 279 healthy control women were included in the study. Participants in each group were further divided into four age subgroups: subgroup 1: 30–39 years old, subgroup 2: 40–49 years old, subgroup 3: 50–59 years old and subgroup 4: 60–69 years old. Standardized field-based fitness tests were used to assess muscle strength (30-s chair stand, handgrip strength and arm curl tests). Fibromyalgia patients did not show impairment on muscle mass along ageing, without values of skeletal muscle mass index below 6.76 kg/m2 in any group. However, in all variables of muscle strength, the fibromyalgia group showed less strength than the healthy group (p < 0.05) for all age groups. As expected, handgrip strength test showed differences along ageing only in the fibromyalgia group (p < 0.001). Age was inversely associated with skeletal muscle mass (r = −0.155, p < 0.01) and handgrip strength (r = −0.230, p < 0.001) in the FM group. Women with fibromyalgia showed a reduction in muscle strength along ageing process, with significantly lower scores than healthy women for each age group, representing a risk of dynapenia.

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Acknowledgments

We also acknowledge all the Asociación Granadina de Fibromialgia (FM association from Granada, Spain). The study was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (I+D+I DEP2010-15639). This study is also being supported by grants from the University of Granada and the Spanish Ministry of Education (AP2010-0963, AP2009-3173, FPU13/01088).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal, University of Jaen, Avenida Chiclana de la Frontera Úbeda, 23400, Jaén, España, Spain

    Pedro Ángel Latorre-Román, María Aparecida Santos e Campos & Felipe García-Pinillos

  2. Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Víctor Segura-Jiménez, Virginia A. Aparicio, Manuel Herrador-Colmenero, Inmaculada C. Álvarez-Gallardo & Manuel Delgado-Fernández

Authors
  1. Pedro Ángel Latorre-Román
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  2. Víctor Segura-Jiménez
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  3. Virginia A. Aparicio
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  4. María Aparecida Santos e Campos
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  5. Felipe García-Pinillos
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  6. Manuel Herrador-Colmenero
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  7. Inmaculada C. Álvarez-Gallardo
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  8. Manuel Delgado-Fernández
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Correspondence to Pedro Ángel Latorre-Román.

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Latorre-Román, P.Á., Segura-Jiménez, V., Aparicio, V.A. et al. Ageing influence in the evolution of strength and muscle mass in women with fibromyalgia: the al-Ándalus project. Rheumatol Int 35, 1243–1250 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3213-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3213-5

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