Association Between Fibromyalgia and Risk of Developing Sarcopenia According SARC-F - A Cross-Sectional Study

Q: What was the primary objective of the study?

To examine the association between fibromyalgia and an increased risk of developing sarcopenia according to SARC-F.

Q: How was sarcopenia risk assessed in participants?

Risk of developing sarcopenia was evaluated using SARC-F.

Q: What relationships did the study find between fibromyalgia impact and other measures?

A high risk of sarcopenia according to SARC-F was significantly associated with Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) scores and depression, and pain measures showed significant correlations with anxiety and most algometric measures.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition that may or may not involve muscular stiffness, while sarcopenia reflects progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. Because muscle loss is implicated in both conditions, this cross-sectional study evaluates whether FM is associated with an increased risk of sarcopenia. The sample includes 84 FM patients assessed with sociodemographic, anthropometric, pain (VAS, algometry), SARC-F, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression questionnaires.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Article Association Between Fibromyalgia and Risk of Developing Sarcopenia According SARC-F: A Cross-Sectional Study Blanca Pedauyé-Rueda 1,2, Eduardo Cimadevilla Fernández-Pola 1,2, Hilin Hussein 1, Cristina Ojedo-Martín 1,2, María Jesús Fernández-Aceñero 3,4, Juan Hernández-Lougedo 1,2, Noemí Mayoral-Gonzalo 1,2, *, Juan Pablo Hervás-Pérez 5 and Edurne Úbeda-D’Ocasar 1,2 Academic Editor: Antonio Stecco Received: 24 October 2025 Revised: 19 December 2025 Accepted: 19 December 2025 Published: 24 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Physiotherapy and Health Research Group (FYSA), Department of Physiotherapy, HM Faculty of Health Sciences, Camilo José Cela University, 28692 Madrid, Spain; [blanca.pedauye@ucjc.edu](blanca.pedauye@ucjc.edu) (B.P.-R.); [ecimadevilla@ucjc.edu](ecimadevilla@ucjc.edu) (E.C.F.-P.); [husseinhilin01@gmail.com](husseinhilin01@gmail.com) (H.H.); [cojedo@ucjc.edu](cojedo@ucjc.edu) (C.O.-M.); [jlougedo@ucjc.edu](jlougedo@ucjc.edu) (J.H.-L.); [eubeda@ucjc.edu](eubeda@ucjc.edu) (E.Ú .-D.) 2 HM Hospitals Health Research Institute, 28015 Madrid, Spain 3 Department of Legal Medicine, Psychiatry and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [jmariajesus.fernandez@salud.madrid.org](jmariajesus.fernandez@salud.madrid.org) 4 Department of Surgical Pathology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain 5 Analytical Chemistry Unit, Department of Chemistry in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [jphervas@ucm.es](jphervas@ucm.es) * [Correspondence: nmayoral@ucjc.edu](Correspondence: nmayoral@ucjc.edu) Abstract Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition characterised by chronic pain, which mayor may not be associated with muscular stiffness. Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. The loss of muscle mass is a key factor in the progression of both fibromyalgia and sarcopenia and therefore warrants thorough evaluation. It has been demonstrated that obesity directly influences factors that increase pain perception and disease severity and reduce quality of life. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between fibromyalgia and the increased risk of developing sarcopenia. Methods: The sample consisted of 84 patients diagnosed with FM. We assessed sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric variables (circumferential and ultrasound) pain with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and algometry, risk of developing sarcopenia with SARC-F, quality of sleep, anxiety, and depression using validated questionnaires. Results: A total of 96.3% of the participants were women. Overall, 56.3% of the sample presented a high risk of sarcopenia according to SARC-F, VAS scores showed significant negative correlations with anxiety (p < 0.01) and with almost all algometric measures (p < 0.05) . The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) demonstrated a positive and significant correlation with sleep quality (p < 0.01) and depression (p < 0.01) . Furthermore, presence of a high risk of sarcopenia according to SARC-F was significantly associated with FIQ scores (p = 0.002) and depression (p < 0.001) . Conclusions: There is a significant association between the impact of FM and a high risk of developing sarcopenia according to SARC-F. This population exhibits a high degree of pain, which are significantly associated with elevated levels of anxiety and depression. Keywords: fibromyalgia; sarcopenia; musculoskeletal disorder; pain; anxiety and depression 1. Introduction Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition characterised by chronic pain, which may or may not be associated with muscu

FAQs

What was the primary objective of the study?

To examine the association between fibromyalgia and an increased risk of developing sarcopenia according to SARC-F.

How was sarcopenia risk assessed in participants?

Risk of developing sarcopenia was evaluated using SARC-F.

What relationships did the study find between fibromyalgia impact and other measures?

A high risk of sarcopenia according to SARC-F was significantly associated with Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) scores and depression, and pain measures showed significant correlations with anxiety and most algometric measures.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair