2026-10-14T02:59:45Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34038477 2026-10-01T04:33:52Z category_16 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Table 1_Clinical, functional, and quality-of-life characteristics of women with comorbid fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome and their associations with FIQR scores.docx Antonella Bianco (9541535) Nicola Verrelli (22516613) Giuseppe Riezzo (22516643) Gaetana Laselva (22516607) Marco Grasso (338528) Isabella Franco (9541532) Laura Prospero (22516604) Benedetta D’Attoma (22516610) Antonia Ignazzi (22516616) Maria Noemy Pastore (23589967) Elisa Grazioli (10305573) Attilio Parisi (22173577) Francesco Russo (125873) Physiology comorbidity exercise prescription fibromyalgia functional assessment irritable bowel syndrome quality of life Background<p>Fibromyalgia (FM) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) frequently co-occur, sharing pathophysiological mechanisms such as central sensitization and gut-brain axis dysregulation. Given that exercise is a first-line non-pharmacological intervention for FM, detailed baseline characterization may inform future exercise-based research. This study aimed to describe the physical, functional, symptomatic, and quality-of-life profile of women with FM+IBS comorbidity in relation to FM severity, assessed continuously and, secondarily, categorically using the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR).</p>Methods<p>This cross-sectional observational study, conducted at IRCCS “Saverio de Bellis” (Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy), enrolled 33 women (mean age 47.7 ± 8.6 years) diagnosed with FM (2016 ACR criteria) and IBS (Rome IV criteria). Participants were stratified into three groups by FIQR score: Remission/Mild (n=7), Moderate (n=13), and High Severity (n=13). FIQR total score was analyzed as a continuous exposure using Spearman correlations with bootstrapped 95% CIs as the primary analysis; the three-group stratification was retained as a secondary, exploratory presentation. Assessments included pain (VAS), tender points, gastrointestinal symptoms (IBS-SSS), kinesiophobia (TSK), sleep quality (PSQI), physical activity (IPAQ), functional fitness tests, and quality of life (SF-36).</p>Results<p>Perceived pain showed the strongest association with FIQR severity (Spearman’s rho=0.57, p<0.001), with values nearly doubling in the High Severity versus Remission/Mild stratum. Physical activity level (IPAQ; exact p=0.021) differed significantly across FIQR strata, with greater inactivity in the Moderate group. Lower-limb functional strength/endurance, handgrip strength, six-minute walk distance, kinesiophobia, and SF-36 Mental Component Summary were all significantly associated with continuous FIQR (all p<0.05); the Sit-to-Stand difference across categorical strata, significant under standard ANOVA (p=0.048), lost significance under Welch’s ANOVA (p=0.148) and Kruskal-Wallis testing (p=0.072). Gastrointestinal burden remained elevated across all groups, with no clear association with FIQR severity (rho=0.29, p=0.097). Sleep quality and SF-36 scores were markedly impaired regardless of FIQR class.</p>Conclusions<p>In this exploratory sample, greater FM severity was primarily associated with increased pain and reduced lower-limb functional capacity, while gastrointestinal burden remained consistently elevated across the severity spectrum. These descriptive, hypothesis-generating findings may help guide the design of future, adequately powered studies addressing pain threshold, functional capacity, and gastrointestinal tolerance in exercise management of FM+IBS.</p> 2026-10-01T04:33:52Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fphys.2026.1922718.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_1_Clinical_functional_and_quality-of-life_characteristics_of_women_with_comorbid_fibromyalgia_and_irritable_bowel_syndrome_and_their_associations_with_FIQR_scores_docx/34038477 CC BY 4.0