Galvez-Sánchez, Carmen M, Duschek, Stefan, Reyes Del Paso, Gustavo A · Psychology research and behavior management · 2019 · DOI
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that often comes with fatigue, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating. This review found that people with fibromyalgia frequently experience depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, and these psychological symptoms can make the physical illness worse. The study suggests that combining talk therapy or other psychological support with medication may help patients feel better and improve their quality of life.
This work is important for ME/CFS patients because fibromyalgia shares substantial symptom overlap with ME/CFS (fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbance, comorbidity patterns) and similar psychological comorbidity profiles. Understanding the bidirectional relationship between psychological factors and physical symptoms in fibromyalgia may illuminate mechanisms relevant to ME/CFS and support development of integrated, patient-centered care approaches.
This study does not prove that psychological factors cause fibromyalgia—rather, it documents their frequent co-occurrence and association with worse outcomes. It does not establish which psychiatric symptoms precede the illness, which emerge as consequences, or what the underlying biological mechanisms are. The review does not differentiate between primary psychiatric comorbidity and secondary psychological distress resulting from chronic illness.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Galvez-Sánchez, Carmen M, Duschek, Stefan, & Reyes Del Paso, Gustavo A (2019). Psychological impact of fibromyalgia: current perspectives.. Psychology research and behavior management. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S178240
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-galvez-snchez-2019-psychological-impact,
author = {Galvez-Sánchez, Carmen M and Duschek, Stefan and Reyes Del Paso, Gustavo A},
title = {Psychological impact of fibromyalgia: current perspectives.},
journal = {Psychology research and behavior management},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.2147/PRBM.S178240},
note = {PubMed: 30858740},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galvez-snchez-2019-psychological-impact},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galvez-snchez-2019-psychological-impact
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