Age-of-onset of menopause is associated with enhanced painful and non-painful sensitivity in fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by high prevalence in women. In particular, estrogen deficit has been considered as a potentially promoting factor of FM symptoms. This study was aimed to examine the relationship between age-of-onset of menopause and pain sensitivity in FM...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martinez Jauand, Mercedes, Sitges Quirós, Carol, Femenia, Joan Reines, Cifre, Ignacio, Gonzalez, Susana Laura, Chialvo, Dante Renato, Montoya Jimenez, Pedro José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/2621
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/2621
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fibromyalgia
Menopause
Non-Pain Thresholds
Estrogen
Pain Thresholds
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Descripción
Sumario:Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by high prevalence in women. In particular, estrogen deficit has been considered as a potentially promoting factor of FM symptoms. This study was aimed to examine the relationship between age-of-onset of menopause and pain sensitivity in FM. For this purpose, pain sensitivity was assessed in 74 FM and 32 pain-free control women. All participants were postmenopausal and underwent a detailed semi-structured clinical interview, including data about menopause transition, previous history of hysterectomy or ovariectomy, and menses time. Participants were divided into two groups depending on age-of-onset of menopause: early menopause [≤49 years] vs. late menopause [>49 years]. Pain and non-pain thresholds were assessed by using cold, heat, mechanical, and electrical stimulation. FM women showed higher overall pain sensitivity as compared with healthy subjects. FM women with early age-of-onset of menopause displayed greater pain and non-pain sensitivity than FM women with late age-of-onset of menopause, whereas no differences were observed in healthy women due to age-of-onset of menopause. These results suggest that an early transition to menopause (shortening the time of exposure to estrogens) may influence pain hypersensitivity and could be related to aggravation of FM symptoms.