Asthma Patients With Fibromyalgia Twice as Likely to Have Poorly Controlled Disease: Study Shows
Turkey: A new case-control study published in the Annals of Medicine has shed light on the overlooked burden of fibromyalgia among asthma patients.
The research, conducted by Suat Konuk and colleagues from the Department of Chest Diseases, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey, shows that fibromyalgia is considerably more common in individuals with asthma and may contribute to poorer asthma control.
Asthma and fibromyalgia are both chronic conditions that affect quality of life, and emerging evidence suggests that they share inflammatory and neurophysiological mechanisms. However, little is known about how frequently fibromyalgia occurs in asthma patients and its potential impact on asthma outcomes.
In this study, 120 individuals with asthma and 120 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were evaluated. Fibromyalgia was diagnosed according to the 2016 revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, using the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and Symptom Severity Scale (SSS). Asthma control was measured using the Asthma Control Test (ACT).
The analysis revealed the following findings:
- Fibromyalgia was present in 16.7% of asthma patients compared to 3.3% in healthy controls.
- Asthma patients with fibromyalgia had significantly lower ACT scores than those without (18.2 vs. 20.1), reflecting poorer asthma control.
- Uncontrolled asthma was more common in patients with fibromyalgia (60%) compared to those without (35%).
- Logistic regression indicated fibromyalgia was linked to over twice the odds of uncontrolled asthma (OR 2.16), though not statistically significant.
- Higher ACT scores did not correlate with fibromyalgia severity measured by WPI or SSS.
- ROC analysis showed that ACT alone could not reliably detect coexisting fibromyalgia.
The authors emphasized that these findings highlight a gap in current asthma care, where comorbid conditions like fibromyalgia may remain under-recognized. Relying solely on ACT scores may overlook the presence of fibromyalgia, suggesting the need for multidimensional evaluation approaches in clinical practice.
“Fibromyalgia should not be underestimated in asthma patients,” the authors noted. “Its higher prevalence and association with worse asthma control point to the necessity of screening and multidisciplinary care strategies.”
The study also clarified that demographic factors such as age and sex were not independent predictors of this relationship. Instead, the interplay between asthma and fibromyalgia seems to be driven by shared biological and symptomatic pathways rather than patient characteristics.
The researchers acknowledged limitations, including the single-center design and relatively modest sample size, which may restrict the generalizability of findings. They recommend larger, multicenter, prospective studies to confirm the direction of this relationship and to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
"Overall, the study reinforces the need for clinicians to consider fibromyalgia as a comorbid condition in asthma management. Early recognition and integrated care may help improve both asthma outcomes and overall quality of life for affected patients," the authors concluded.
Reference:
Konuk, S., Ozel, A., Ozsari, E., & Nasircilar, A. (2025). Prevalence of fibromyalgia in asthma and its impact on asthma control: a case-control study. Annals of Medicine, 57(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2025.2566392
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