Prevalence of fibromyalgia and quality of life in women with and without endometriosis

The objectives of the study were to assessed if there is any difference in the prevalence of fibromyalgia and in quality of life (QoL) between women with and without endometriosis. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011-2013, involving 257 women with surgically and histopathologically confirmed endometriosis and 253 women with no history of endometriosis and no endometriosis-related symptoms. Women were recruited both at the family planning and endometriosis clinic, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Campinas, Brazil. The Short Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36) was used to assess QoL, while the 1990 and 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were used to evaluate fibromyalgia. According to the 1990 ACR criteria, there were no cases of fibromyalgia in either group. Nevertheless, according to the 2010 ACR criteria, four women, two with endometriosis and two without the disease, were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Scores were significantly lower in all the domains of the QoL questionnaire for the women with endometriosis compared to those without the disease. This study reports no difference in the prevalence of fibromyalgia between women with and without endometriosis; however QoL was poorer among women with endometriosis when compared to women without the disease.