Samman Abeer A, Bokhari Raneem A, Idris Sarah, Bantan Rafal, Margushi Rahaf R, Lary Sara, Sait Raghad M, Bawazir Yasser M
Internal Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, SAU.
Internal Medicine: Rheumatology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, SAU.
Cureus. 2021 Jan 12;13(1):e12670. doi: 10.7759/cureus.12670.
Background and objective Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic, multifactorial pain condition. The latest literature suggests that genetic and environmental factors including continuous stress contribute significantly to FM's pathophysiology. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of FM among medical students as they are considered a population significantly at risk of developing the condition. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University. Medical students included in the study were recruited through a random stratified sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the participants; it included questions related to widespread pain index (WPI) and symptom severity scale (SSS) to assess the symptoms and diagnosis of FM, which were established based on the current diagnostic criteria. All first-year students were excluded from this research. Results A total of 450 participants were recruited for the study. Among them, 291 (64.7%) were females and 159 (35.3%) were males. Their ages ranged from 18 to 26 years, and the mean age was 21.52 years (SD: ±1.52). They came from different academic levels: 97 (21.6%) were in the second year, 79 (17.6%) were in the third year, 70 (15.6%) were in the fourth year, 99 (22%) were in the fifth year, and 105 (23.3%) were in the sixth year. The overall prevalence of FM was found to be 43 (9.6%). It was established based on the number of students who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria or were previously diagnosed with FM by a professional physician. Conclusion FM is highly prevalent among medical students. Our findings demonstrate the likelihood of the influence of medical school on causing the condition, as it has a stressful education system with high academic expectations. We recommend that this issue be seriously addressed since FM leads to a significant burden on the students and can negatively affect their future medical practice.
背景与目的
纤维肌痛（FM）是一种慢性、多因素疼痛病症。最新文献表明，包括持续压力在内的遗传和环境因素对FM的病理生理学有显著影响。在本研究中，我们旨在调查医学生中FM的患病率，因为他们被认为是患该病症风险显著较高的人群。
方法
本横断面研究在阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学进行。纳入研究的医学生通过随机分层抽样方法招募。向参与者发放了一份自填式问卷；问卷包括与广泛疼痛指数（WPI）和症状严重程度量表（SSS）相关的问题，以评估FM的症状和诊断，这些是根据当前诊断标准制定的。所有一年级学生均被排除在本研究之外。
结果
本研究共招募了450名参与者。其中，291名（64.7%）为女性，159名（35.3%）为男性。他们的年龄在18至26岁之间，平均年龄为21.52岁（标准差：±1.52）。他们来自不同的学术水平：二年级97名（21.6%），三年级79名（17.6%），四年级70名（15.6%），五年级99名（22%），六年级105名（23.3%）。FM的总体患病率为43名（9.6%）。这是根据符合诊断标准或先前由专业医生诊断为FM的学生人数确定的。
结论
FM在医学生中高度流行。我们的研究结果表明医学院校的教育系统压力大且学术期望高，有可能对引发该病症产生影响。我们建议应认真对待这个问题，因为FM会给学生带来重大负担，并可能对他们未来的医疗实践产生负面影响。
