The role of anger, alexithymia and pain severity in fibromyalgia syndrome

The goal of this study is to explore the roles of anger, alexithymia, and pain severity in fibromyalgia syndrome. 97 participants, including 32 diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome, 30 diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and 35 healthy individuals as a control group were involved in the study. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Spielberger State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), Anger Rumination Scale (ARS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were employed in the data acquisition. The study found a significant disparity in alexithymia levels between the rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia groups. Fibromyalgia patients showed enhanced levels of alexithymia compared to rheumatoid arthritis patients. However, no differences in fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls regarding alexithymia scores were found. No differences were found between fibromyalgia patients and rheumatoid arthritis in terms of anger suppression. Similarly, no differences were found between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls in terms of anger suppression. The study found a substantial difference in anger rumination levels between the two groups, with fibromyalgia patients showing higher levels than both rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy individuals. The correlation between alexithymia levels, anger rumination, and suppressed anger with pain severity did not achieve statistical significance.