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Clinical association of vitamin D and serotonin levels among patients with fibromyalgia syndrome
Authors Amin OA, Abouzeid SM, Ali SA, Amin BA, Alswat KA
Received 16 December 2018
Accepted for publication 30 April 2019
Published 27 May 2019 Volume 2019:15 Pages 1421—1426
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S198434
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 2
Editor who approved publication: Dr Roger Pinder
Omar A Amin,1 Saleh M Abouzeid,2 Siham A Ali,3 Bashir A Amin,4 Khaled A Alswat5
1Department of Orthopedic, Al Noor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Rheumatology, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Neurology, Banha University, Banha, Egypt; 4Department of Medicine, Taif University, School of Medicine, Taif, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Medicine and Endocrinology, Taif University School of Medicine, Taif, Saudi Arabia
Objective: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder associated with severe pain. According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, the prevalence of FMS is between 3% and 6% in the general population, with about 90% of the patients being women. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D and serotonin levels and FMS severity.
Methods: Forty participants with fibromyalgia (mean age: 37.8±9.5 years) were included and had their medical history taken, a physical examination, and laboratory testing in the Rheumatology Department at Al-Ameen Hospital in Taif, Saudi Arabia. The revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) was used to determine the FMS severity.
Results: The results showed that 42.5% of the patients were considered to have mild/moderate fibromyalgia, with the remainder having severe/extreme fibromyalgia. The latter were more likely to have lower serotonin levels. The results showed a significant dose-dependent negative relationship between the serotonin levels and FIQR scores (P=0.002). However, no significant correlations were found between the vitamin D levels and FIQR scores (P=0.112).
Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the improved health of FMS patients is associated with normal serotonin levels.
Keywords: fibromyalgia, vitamin D, serotonin, Saudi Arabia, Taif
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