Disease Characteristics and Behavior Pattern of Treatment for Patient with Fibromyalgia

섬유조직염 환자의 질병 특성과 치료행태

The purpose of the study was to identify disease characteristics and behavior pattern of treatment for patients with Fibromyalgia. This study was carried out between May to Aug. in 1998 through direct interview in Rheumatism clinic at H. University Hospital and subject in this study were 125 outpatients diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test, ANOVA using SPSS Window program. The results of this study are as follows. 1. General Characteristics : All of the persons with Fibromyalgia were female who were mostly in their forties(37.5%). A third of them(38.4%) were graduated from high school. The greatest part of them(54.4%) were christians but little part of them(16.8%) were employed 2. Disease Characteristics : They have struggled with Fibromyalgia for 10 years on an average. About half of them(56.9%) suffered from Fibromyalgia only but the others had another diseases which were in greatest part occupied by Osteoarthritis. The number of tender point which is a feature of Fibromyalgia differed according to measuring criteria. Yunus criteria. however, was proved to be the most proper measuring criteria than any other method as it showed high correlations between symptoms and physical activities. The most serious symptoms that complained the patients among subjective symptoms are pain, sleep disorder, and fatigue in sequence, and activities most hard to do among physical activities are washing by hand, scrubbing by hand, and shopping in sequence. 3. Behavior Pattern of Treatment : The largest part of them(42.4%) had received medical treatment after they were determined to have the disease and most of them were taking medicine as prescribed by physician(88.8%) or other medicines(16.8%), Of them, two thirds stated that the medicine they took were effective. Around a third of them took exercises mostly composed of swimming. The medical institution they visited in the past were orthopedic surgical department, Oriental hospital, physical therapy department in sequence and, in a slight percent(11.4%), psychiatric department. 4. Relations between Disease Characteristics and Behavior pattern of Treatment : It shows that number of tender point and level of symptom are significantly different according to duration of disease and medical intervention. As a results, it can be suggest that persons with Fibromyalgia need to take exercises and medicine continually regardless of medical treatment as it is a chronic disease whose symptoms are hardly mitigated.