چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:Data is lacking on comorbid personality disorders (PD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in terms of
prevalence, and associated healthcare and societal costs. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of
PD in FMS patients and to analyse whether the presence of comorbid PD is related to worse functional impairment
and greater healthcare (medical visits, drug consumption, and medical tests) and societal costs.
Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed using the baseline data of 216 FMS patients participating in a
randomized, controlled trial carried out in three primary health care centres situated in the region of Barcelona, Spain.
Measurement instruments included the International Personality Disorder Examination - Screening Questionnaire
(IPDE-SQ), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI), and a
socio-demographic questionnaire.
Results:Most patients (65 %) had a potential PD according to the IPDE-SQ. The most prevalent PD were the avoidant
(41.4 %), obsessive-compulsive (33.1 %), and borderline (27 %). We found statistically significant differences in functional
impairment (FIQ scores) between FMS patients with potential PD vs non-PD (59.2 vs 51.1; p< 0.001). Multivariate
regression analyses revealed that higher FIQ total scores and the presence of potential PD were related to more
healthcare costs (primary and specialised care visits).
Conclusions:As expected, PD are frequent comorbid conditions in patients with FMS. Our results suggest that the
screening of comorbid PD in patients with FMS might be recommendable in order to detect potential frequent
attenders to primary and specialised care.