Evaluation of chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and somatization disorder individuals with a primary diagnosis of fibromyalgia

Aims: Currently, fibromyalgia (FM) is still diagnosed solely on clinical grounds, as no serologic, imaging, or histologic markers are available. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) shares many similarities with FM. The implication of similar etiological factors and mechanisms, the overlap in symptoms and signs, and the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and somatization disorder in both conditions have led to suggestions that they may represent different manifestations of the same disease. The primary objective of this investigation was to assess the prevalence of comorbid psychiatric conditions ‘including depression, anxiety, and somatization disorder’ as well as CFS, among individuals diagnosed with FM, and to explore potential overlaps in their clinical presentation. Methods: In this prospective, cross-sectional study, the prime MD scale was applied to 60 patients diagnosed with FM to investigate their overlap with psychiatric diagnoses. In addition, patients were evaluated according to the Fukuda Classification System to determine whether they could be diagnosed with CFS. Results: The incidence rate of anxiety disorder was 33.3% and the incidence rate of somatoform disorder was 83.4%. Major depression was detected in 10 patients (16.7%) and dysthymia in 16 patients. Eight out of 60 patients (13.3%) did not have any psychiatric disorders, while the remaining 52 patients had at least one disorder or more than one disorder. Although 50 of 60 patients (83.3%) complained of fatigue, only 8 (13.3%) patients were diagnosed by meeting sufficient criteria for CFS. Conclusion: Although FM and CFS are not the same clinical entity, they appear to be two conditions with overlapping symptoms, particularly psychiatric ones, which frequently coexist. The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses was notably higher among individuals who met the diagnostic criteria for both FM and CFS. Further research is needed to refine and evaluate the diagnostic criteria for both conditions.