Aging and chronic pain: a study of women with fibromyalgia

Abstract

Objective: This study seeks to investigate the aging process of women affected by fibromyalgia, as well as its physical, personal, and social impacts. Method: Sixty-six (66) women participated who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia, aged from 30 to 68 years, living in Sao Paulo/SP. For qualitative research, a group of fifteen (15) out of the 66 women was selected at random: five (05) aged from 30 to 49 years; five (05) aged from 50 to 59 years; and five (05) aged 60 years and above. Individual, semi-structured interviews designed by the author were conducted, recorded, and later transcribed verbatim. The instrument sought to encourage the subjects to reflect in order to access social representations of pain, of the disease, and of aging with chronic pain. The methodology used for processing the qualitative research data was the Collective Subject Discourse technique. Results: Analysis indicated greater incidence of fibromyalgia among elderly women, but the impact on quality of life, as measured by the FIQ, was greater among the middleaged group (50 to 59 years). There was a greater prevalence of the disease among women with poor levels of formal learning, but it was found that the impact of fibromyalgia was more significant for women with higher education. The presence of religiosity was very significant in this group of subjects. Conclusion: Primary care provided by public health programs, such as “Estratégia de Saúde da Família” (Family Health Strategy), requires the proper approach to a person suffering from such a peculiar chronic illness as fibromyalgia. This approach should be extended to the elderly, in observation to the policies for humanization of healthcare services seeking to promote health.