Impact of tobacco use on people with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Tobacco use is associated with more pain and other symptoms in people with Fibromyalgia Syndrome, according to an article has been published in the January edition of the Clinical journal of Pain by a team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation in the USA.¹

The study aimed to examine the relationship between the severity of Fibromyalgia Syndrome symptoms and current tobacco use in patients evaluated at a specialized Fibromyalgia Syndrome treatment program.

For the study, demographic and clinical data from 984 consecutive patients evaluated at the Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia Treatment Program including the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were prospectively collected and stored in an electronic medical record and an electronic database. Tobacco users and nonusers were compared.

One hundred and forty-five patients (14.7%) were identified as tobacco users.

The researchers found that tobacco use was associated with greater pain intensity as measured by pain scales and the pain component of the FIQ. Tobacco users had a greater FIQ composite score, higher scores on all the FIQ components and fewer good days and more days of work missed per week. ¹

Tobacco use was associated with several confounding clinical and demographic variables including lower education, higher unemployment, not being married or widowed, and history of abuse.¹

After adjusting for these confounding variables, tobacco users continued to have greater pain intensity, a higher total and component FIQ scores except for fatigue.¹

Smoking was not associated with a higher number of tender points.^{1 1}

The researchers concluded that:

"Current tobacco use was associated with more severe [Fibromyalgia Syndrome] symptoms in patients presenting to a specialized fibromyalgia treatment program."¹

References:

1. Weingarten TN, et al. Impact of tobacco use in patients presenting to a multidisciplinary outpatient treatment program for fibromyalgia. Clin J Pain. 2009 Jan;25(1):39-43