JSS Medical Research (India)|Jewish General Hospital|McGill University|McGill University Health Centre
although persons lower socioeconomic status ses generally poorer health status many medical conditions association ses symptom severity fibromyalgia fm unknown subjective symptoms fm may influenced personal perceptions environmental psychosocial factors therefore ses may influence symptom expression severitydata crosssectional analysis obtained reallife prospective cohort 246 patients fm categorized according level education high school graduates less group 1 n 99 college graduates group 2 n 84 university graduates group 3 n 63 association level education wellvalidated measure ses disease severity functional status quality life examinedlower education significantly associated older age p 0039 current unemployment p 0001 severe disease measured patient global assessment disease activity p 0019 mcgill pain questionnaire p 0026 pain disability index p 0031 pain catastrophizing scale p 0015 health assessment questionnaire p 0001 fibromyalgia impact questionnaire p 0002 pain level anxiety depression associations remained significant even upon adjusting age sex differencespatients fm lower ses assessed education level reported greater symptom severity functional impairment despite reporting similar levels pain depression anxiety although fm spans socioeconomic groups factors specific disease characteristics mental status appear play important role patients perception illness