Research teams from the IRBLleida and the UdL confirm the validity and reliability of different qualitative measures to assess the sleep of adults with fibromyalgia

Research teams from the Research group of health care (GRECS) of the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida) and from the Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy of the University of Lleida (UdL) have studied the validity and reliability of sleep quality indicators (the duration or depth of sleep and difficulty falling asleep, among others) in adult people diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The results confirm the validity of the indicators and will allow health professionals to guarantee comprehensive care in patients with fibromyalgia, beyond pain, and to provide important information on the effectiveness of treatments. This study has been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

"The low quality of sleep is a very frequent symptom among people diagnosed with fibromyalgia with a prevalence that ranges between 65% and 99%, according to the most current studies available," explains the first author of the article, Carolina Climent. The Research Team, made up of Carolina Climent, Anna Marco, Roland Pastells, Fran Valenzuela, Joan Blanco and Montse Gea, has carried out a systematic review by searching for articles in different electronic databases, following the established recommendations (COSMIN recommendations and PRISMA) to assess patient-reported outcome measures of sleep quality and validated adult individuals with fibromyalgia.

These reviews are regularly carried out in research to assess the validity of the measures reported by the patients. The team consulted five scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, and ISI Web of Science) and obtained a total of 3,042 articles. He also performed a manual literature search. Finally, a total of seven articles met the pre-established inclusion criteria which are: the their Pittsburgh Quality Index, the Jenkins Sleep Scale, the Sleep Quality Numerical Rating Scale, the Sleep Scale Medical Outcomes Study and the Fibromyalgia Sleep Journal.

"The low quality of sleep is a very prevalent symptom that has a great impact on other symptoms of this health condition, such as pain, fatigue and cognitive disturbances, and directly affects the quality of life of these people", researcher Carolina Climent confirms. "The evolution of the study of sleep in people suffering from fibromyalgia may be of special interest to evaluate the effectiveness of new treatments, personalize the therapeutic approach and improve knowledge," she added.

In the future, the results of the study will allow health professionals and researchers to know which outcome measures are more valid and reliable in their context of application.

This research has received the support of the University of Lleida, with a predoctoral grant from the first author, and with help from the Institute for Social and Territorial Development (INDEST).

Research: Climent-Sanz, C.; Marco-Mitjavila, A.; Pastells-Peiró, R.; Valenzuela-Pascual, F.; Blanco-Blanco, J.; Gea-Sánchez, M. Patient Reported Outcome Measures of Sleep Quality in Fibromyalgia: A COSMIN Systematic Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2992.