Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare health-related quality of life in 2 different populations
with chronic pain: patients with fibromyalgia and patients with refractory angina
pectoris. Previous separate studies have indicated that these patient groups
report different impacts of pain on health-related quality of life. METHODS: The
Short-Form 36 was used to assess health- related quality of life. In order to
adjust for age and gender differences between the groups, both patient groups
were compared with age- and gender-matched normative controls. The difference in
health-related quality of life between the 2 patient groups was assessed by
transforming the Short-Form 36 subscale scores to a z-score. RESULTS: The
patients with fibromyalgia (n = 203) reported poorer health-related quality of
life in all the subscale scores of Short-Form 36 (p < 0.05-0.0001) than the
patients with refractory angina (n = 146) when both groups were compared with
their corresponding normal population (z-score). CONCLUSION: Patients with
fibromyalgia experience greater impairment in health-related quality of life
compared with the normal population than do patients with refractory angina
pectoris, despite the fact that the latter have a potentially life-threatening
disease. The great impairment in health- related quality of life in patients with
fibromyalgia should be taken into consideration when planning rehabilitation.

Langue : ANGLAIS