Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33539459›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

The relation of fibromyalgia and fibromyalgia symptoms to self-reported seizures.

Johannes J Rasker, Frederick Wolfe, Ewa G Klaver-Krol, Machiel J Zwarts, Peter M Ten Klooster

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 46% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Johannes J RaskerFaculty of Behavioral Management & Social sciences, Department of Psychology, Health & Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Frederick WolfeNational Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases, Wichita, Kansas, United States of America.
Ewa G Klaver-KrolRoessingh Research and Development, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Machiel J ZwartsEpilepsy Center Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, The Netherlands.
Peter M Ten KloosterFaculty of Behavioral Management & Social sciences, Department of Psychology, Health & Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2565-5439
University of Twente · NLKempenhaeghe · NLRoessingh Research and Development · NLUniversity of Kansas · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveSeveral epidemiological and clinical reports associate fibromyalgia (FM) with seizure disorders, and clinical studies associate FM diagnosis with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. However, these associations rely on self-reports of being diagnosed with FM or unstandardized clinical diagnosis in combination with small samples. We investigated the association of FM and self-reported seizures using a large rheumatic disease databank and the current established self-reported, symptom-based FM diagnostic criteria.

methodsWe selected a random observation from 11,378 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 2,390 (21.0%) of whom satisfied 2016 revised criteria for FM. Patients were inquired about the presence of any kind of seizures in the previous 6 months, anti-epileptic medications, and patient-reported symptoms and outcomes.

resultsSeizures were reported by 89 RA patients who met FM criteria (FM+) and by 97 patients who did not (FM-), resulting in an age- and sex-adjusted seizure prevalence of 3.74 (95% CI 2.95 to 4.53) per 100 FM+ subjects and 1.08 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.30) in FM- subjects. The seizure odds ratio of FM+ to FM- cases was 3.54 (95% CI 2.65 to 4.74). Seizures were associated to a very similar degree with symptom reporting (somatic symptom count and comorbidity index) as to FM diagnosis variables. RA patients reporting seizures also reported worse pain, quality of life, and functional status. Seizure patients treated with anti-seizure medication had worse outcomes and more comorbidities than seizure patients with no seizure drugs.

conclusionsWe found a significant and similar association of both FM diagnostic variables and FM-related symptom variables, including the number of symptoms and comorbidities, with self-reported seizures in people with RA. The observed association was similar to those found in previous studies of symptoms variables and seizures and does not suggest a unique role for fibromyalgia diagnosis. Rather, it suggests that multi-symptom comorbidity is linked to seizures in a complex and not yet clearly understood way. As the current study relied on self-reported seizures and was not able to distinguish between epileptic and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, future studies are needed to replicate the findings using both validated FM criteria assessments and clinically verified diagnoses of epileptic and psychogenic seizures.

Indexed as

Arthritis, RheumatoidComorbidityEpilepsyFibromyalgiaHealth StatusHumansLongitudinal StudiesMalePatient Reported Outcome MeasuresPrevalenceQuality of LifeSelf ReportSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID33539459
PMCPMC7861517
OpenAlexW3128936112

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.