The Co-Morbidity between Bipolar and Panic Disorder in Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Alessandra Alciati*, Fabiola Atzeni, Daniela Caldirola, Giampaolo Perna, Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

About half of the patients with fibromyalgia (FM) had a lifetime major depression episode and one third had a panic disorder (PD). Because the co-morbidity between bipolar disorder (BD) and PD marks a specific subtype of BD we aimed to investigate if co-morbid BD/PD (comBD/PD) occurs more frequently than the single disorder in FM patients and evaluate the clinical significance and timing of this co-morbidity. Further, we explored the role of co-morbid subthreshold BD and PD. In 118 patients with FM, lifetime threshold and sub-threshold mood disorders and PD were diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) Clinical Interview. Demographic and clinical variables were compared in co-morbid BD/PD (comBD/PD) and not co-morbid BD/PD (nocomBD/PD) subgroups. The co-morbidity BD/PD was seen in 46.6% of FM patients and in 68.6% when patients with minor bipolar (MinBD) and sub-threshold panic were included. These rates are higher than those of the general population and BD outpatients. There were no statistically significant differences between threshold and sub-threshold comBD/PD and nocom-BD/PD subgroups in demographic and clinical parameters. In the majority of patients (78.2%), the onset of comBD/PD preceded or was contemporary with FM. These findings support the hypothesis that comBD/PD is related to the development of FM in a subgroup of patients.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3619
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine
Volume9
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2020

Keywords

  • bipolar disorders
  • panic disorder
  • fibromyalgia
  • co-morbidity
  • OVERACTIVE LIFE-STYLE
  • ANXIETY DISORDERS
  • SUBTHRESHOLD BIPOLARITY
  • SPECTRUM DISORDERS
  • GENE POLYMORPHISMS
  • COMORBID ANXIETY
  • CHRONIC-FATIGUE
  • MOOD DISORDERS
  • PREVALENCE
  • DEPRESSION

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