RT journal article
T1 The discordance between subjectively and objectively measured physical function in women with fibromyalgia: association with catastrophizing and self-efficacy cognitions. The al-Ándalus project.
A1 Estévez  López, Fernando
A1 Álvarez Gallardo, Inmaculada Concepción
A1 Segura Jiménez, Víctor
A1 Soriano Maldonado, Alberto
A1 Borges Cosic, Milkana María
A1 Pulido Martos, Manuel
A1 Aparicio, Virginia Ariadna
A1 Carbonell Baeza, Ana
A1 Delgado Fernández, Manuel
A1 Geenen, Rinie
A2 Didáctica de la Educación FísicaPlástica y Musical
K1 Chronic pain
K1 disability
K1 functional capacity
K1 functional fitness
K1 observed physical function
K1 self-reported physical function
AB Purpose: People with fibromyalgia experience a disagreement between patient-reported (i.e., subjective) and performance-based (i.e., objective) status. This study aimed to (i) corroborate the discordance between subjectively and objectively measured physical function and (ii) examine whether catastrophizing (worrying, pain magnifying, and helpless cognitions) and self-efficacy (believing capable to manage pain) are independently associated with this discordance. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 405 women with fibromyalgia and 193 age-matched female controls. Participants completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Chronic Pain Self-efficacy Scale, and physical functioning subscales of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Short Form-36 (SF-36) health survey. Objective physical function was measured with the Senior Fitness Test battery. Subjective and objective physical functions were expressed as deviation from the general population in standard deviation (SD) units using means and SD of the control group. Results: In fibromyalgia, subjective physical function was worse than objective physical function (p < 0.001). Higher catastrophizing was consistently associated with greater discordance between subjective and objective physical function, while self-efficacy was only significantly associated with this discordance when subjective physical function was assessed by means of the SF-36. Conclusions: Subjective physical function is more impaired than objective physical function in fibromyalgia, yet both are markedly impaired. Catastrophizing cognitions are associated with this discordance. In particular, high catastrophizing may promote a feeling of reduced ability to do meaningful activities of daily living (i.e., restrictions) that people with fibromyalgia are actually able to. Therefore, catastrophizing should be assessed and potentially targeted when focusing on improving physical function in fibromyalgia.Implications for rehabilitation Rehabilitation should focus on physical exercise programs to help women with fibromyalgia to improve their reduced physical function. In rehabilitation settings, physical function of people with fibromyalgia should be evaluated by both subjective and objective assessments to fully understand physical functioning and to test the existence of discordance between both assessments. In case of a large discordance between subjective and objective physical function, a physical exercise program might be better complemented with cognitive management techniques to reduce catastrophizing and subjective physical dysfunction. When people with fibromyalgia experience high levels of catastrophizing, subjective assessments seem to be poor indicators of physical function.
PB Taylor and Francis Ltd
SN  0963-8288
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30792
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30792
LA eng
NO We acknowledge Taylor and Francis Ltd and Disability and Rehabilitation for publishing our scientific article: Estévez-López, F., Álvarez-Gallardo, I. C., Segura-Jiménez, V., Soriano-Maldonado, A., Borges-Cosic, M., Pulido-Martos, M., Aparicio, V. A., Carbonell-Baeza, A., Delgado-Fernández, M., & Geenen, R. (2018). The discordance between subjectively and objectively measured physical function in women with fibromyalgia: association with catastrophizing and self-efficacy cognitions. The al-Ándalus project. Disability and Rehabilitation, 40(3), 329-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1258737
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 08-nov-2026