Fibromyalgia syndrome in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. The Boston City Hospital Clinical AIDS Team.
OBJECTIVE
To prospectively assess rheumatic manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease in a municipal hospital clinic population in which intravenous drug use was the most common risk factor for HIV infection.


METHODS
Patients with documented HIV infection were evaluated for rheumatic disease using a standardized questionnaire and examination. Patients with fibromyalgia were compared with HIV-infected patients without fibromyalgia and with fibromyalgia patients without known risk factors for HIV infection.


RESULTS
Thirty-seven of 140 patients with HIV infection had muskuloskeletal symptoms. Three of these 37 patients had arthritis, but none had Reiter's syndrome or psoriatic arthritis. Thirty (81%) of 37 patients had chronic musculoskeletal symptoms (for 3 months or longer). Twenty of 30 patients with chronic musculoskeletal symptoms had polyarthralgia, and of those, 15 (75%) were found to have either definite or probable fibromyalgia syndrome. Therefore, fibromyalgia syndrome was found in 41% of HIV-infected patients with musculoskeletal symptoms and in approximately 11% of all HIV-infected patients. Fibromyalgia patients with HIV infection had a longer duration of HIV infection (p = 0.01) and more frequently reported past depressed mood (p = 0.001) than HIV-infected patients without fibromyalgia. Compared with 301 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome and no known risk behavior for HIV, known HIV-infected patients with fibromyalgia were more commonly male (p = 0.001) and reported current depressed mood more frequently (p = 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Few patients with arthritis were noted among HIV-infected patients who had intravenous drug use as risk behavior. By comparison, fibromyalgia syndrome appeared to be a common cause of musculoskeletal symptoms in this patient population.
Simms
R W
RW
Arthritis Section, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts 02118.
Zerbini
C A
CA
Ferrante
N
N
Anthony
J
J
Felson
D T
DT
Craven
D E
DE
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000150:complications*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications; D012737:Sex Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications; D013577:Syndrome