The effect of hypertension on cognitive dysfunction in female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

Objective To evaluate the effect of the presence of Hypertension (HT) on cognitive dysfunction in female patients with Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM). Methods A total of 36 female patients diagnosed with FM were included in the study and the patients were divided into 4 equal groups. Group 1 was HT with impaired cognition, Group 2 was HT with normal cognition, Group 3 was non-HT with impaired cognition and Group 4 was non-HT with normal cognition. Mini mental status test (MMST) was used to assess cognitive function. Results The median age was 51 (41-77) years and median FM complaint duration was 60 (3-336) months. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age and complaint duration (p=0.423 and p=0.308, respectively). Median MMST value was 23.5. Between the groups with normal cognition (groups 2 and 4), MMST median value was similar (p=0.203). Median value of MMST was also similar (p=0.192) between the groups with impaired cognition (groups 1 and 3). Also, the median MMST value in patients with HT was similar to in those without HT (p=0.414). Conclusion In conclusion, we did not find that HT increases cognitive dysfunction in female FM patients. This may be due to the fact that our number of patients is not large. Additionally, since HT affects cognitive decline more in elderly, new studies can be conducted by including an older FM patient group and a larger number of patients.