title: Using questionnaires to assess the quality of life and multidimensionality of fibromyalgia patients.
abstract: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a painful condition of unknown etiology, highly prevalent, and associated with other conditions, which causes great impact on daily life and quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess, due to the multifactorial character of the FMS, the discriminating power of instruments used to identify good indicators of self-assessment and self-knowledge.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive, exploratory, comparative, cross-sectional study with quantitative approach, and sample comprising a treatment group (T), diagnosed with FMS (n = 63) and a control group (C), undergoing interconsultation at the Pain Outpatient Clinic (n = 75). The following instruments were used: Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ); visual analogue scale (VAS); McGill Pain Questionnaire; and the Post-Sleep Inventory (PSI). To evaluate the quality of life, Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the two groups, female gender predominated. The mean age of the sample was 42.3 ± 4.3 years, 45% were married, and the average schooling was 8 ± 3.5 years. The mean duration of pain was 3.2 years, and a mean time of two years were required for the clinical diagnosis of FMS in group T. Group T had higher levels of pain, anxiety, and depression, worse quality of sleep, less flexibility, and worse quality of life, although some of these symptoms were also present in group C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All instruments had good discriminating power (P < 0.05), especially FIQ, VAS and PSI, whose areas under the ROC curve were greater.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Neurológicas, São José do Rio Preto. marielzamartins@famerp.br
authors.forename: Marielza Regina Ismael
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Letícia Oliveira
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Polvero
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Marcos Henrique
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Foss
authors.forename: Randolfo Dos
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Santos Junior
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires