Concentration and memory deficits in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

The present study compared 30 patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS) to 3 0 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and estimated intellectual level on standardized measures of attention, concentration, and memory as well as subjective ratings of memory abilities and sleep quality. In additi on, in order to investigate the relationship between cognitive functioning and other physical and psychological symptoms, subjects with FS completed p sychological measures of pain severity, trait anxiety, and depression. Resu lts indicated that patients with FS performed more poorly on tests of immed iate and delayed recall, and sustained auditory concentration, and their ra tings of both their memory abilities and sleep quality were lower than thos e of controls. Furthermore, perceived memory deficits of the FS subjects we re disproportionately greater than their objective deficits. Results indica ted significant correlations between performance on memory and concentratio n measures and scores on questionnaires of pain severity and trait anxiety. Implications of these results for multidisciplinary treatment programs are discussed.