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The following is a summary of “Assessing comorbid PTSD, depression, and anxiety in fibromyalgia patients: a retrospective observational study,” published in the May 2025 issue of BMC Psychiatry by Rahangdale & Ferraro. 

Fibromyalgia frequently coexisted with psychiatric disorders, complicating the management of health and QoL for affected individuals.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the relationship between fibromyalgia and psychiatric disorders within a single American healthcare system.  

They analyzed data from 1,516 patients with fibromyalgia aged 18 and older with at least 1 psychiatric comorbidity treated at Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA) Healthcare facilities between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023. Chi-square tests were employed to analyze the associations between psychiatric outcomes (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, anxiety) and demographic factors such as age, sex, and race. Hospital length of stay (LOS) across comorbidity groups was analyzed using the Kruskal–Walli’s test, with Bonferroni correction applied for pairwise comparisons.  

The results showed a mean age of 52.2 years in the sample, with a predominantly female (95.98%) and white (77.51%) population. Anxiety was highly prevalent (61.02%), followed by depression (39.75%), while PTSD was less common (8.64%). Age differences were significant, with younger individuals having more PTSD than those aged 65 and older, and the highest PTSD prevalence was observed in the 30–39 age group. Depression prevalence increased with age, peaking in the 65+ group. Anxiety was most prevalent in middle-aged individuals, peaking in those aged 40–52 years. No significant differences in PTSD, anxiety, or depression prevalence were found between white and nonwhite individuals. Sex differences were significant for anxiety only (P= 0.028), with higher rates in females (62%) compared to males (48%). The mean LOS was 1.93 days, with notable differences across comorbidity groups (P< 0.0001). Pairwise comparisons showed that patients with only anxiety had significantly shorter LOS than those with only depression or 2 psychiatric comorbidities (P< 0.001).  

Investigators concluded that psychiatric comorbidities were prevalent in hospitalized patients with fibromyalgia, influencing outcomes, with multiple comorbidities linked to longer hospital stays. 

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-025-06708-4