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Obesity and sleepiness in women with fibromyalgia

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Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is associated with a number of comorbidities, including chronic widespread pain, fatigue and non-restorative sleep. Evidence has shown that FM is closely associated with overweight and obesity. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between obesity and sleepiness in women with FM. A total of 100 adult female patients with a prior medical diagnosis of FM participated in the study. Body mass, height and waist circumference were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The diet quality was evaluated by the Healthy Eating Index. Subjective analyses of daytime sleepiness [Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)] and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality) were performed. An obesity rate of 41 % was found in all women (56.1 % were sleepy and 43.9 % were not, p = 0.04). Obese women showed a greater level of sleepiness when compared with non-obese (10.2 and 7.0, respectively, p = 0.004). Sleepy women showed a greater weight gain after the diagnosis of FM when compared with non-sleepy women (11.7 and 6.4 kg, respectively, p = 0.04). A positive and significant correlation between BMI and sleepiness (r = 0.35, p = 0.02) was also found. In multivariate logistic regression, moderate or severe sleepiness (ESS >12) was associated with obesity (odds ratio 3.44, 95 % CI 1.31–9.01, p = 0.04). These results demonstrate an important association between sleepiness and FM, suggesting that the occurrence of obesity may be involved with sleepiness in these patients.

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Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or non-for-profit sectors. We thank all of the volunteers involved and the Clinical Hospital of Federal University of Uberlândia. We also thank Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences and Commission on Multidisciplinary Residency (COREMU)-UFU.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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  1. Post Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Uberlândia, Av. Pará, 1720, Bloco 2U, Sala 20. Campus Umuarama, Uberlândia, MG, 38405-320, Brazil

    Tânia Aparecida de Araújo, Maria Carliana Mota & Cibele Aparecida Crispim

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  1. Tânia Aparecida de Araújo
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  2. Maria Carliana Mota
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Correspondence to Cibele Aparecida Crispim.

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de Araújo, T.A., Mota, M.C. & Crispim, C.A. Obesity and sleepiness in women with fibromyalgia. Rheumatol Int 35, 281–287 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-014-3091-2

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