Evaluation of the Physical and Emotional Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Fibromyalgia Patients

Psychological stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to the severity and duration of physical pain. However, when added to the economic stress due to social isolation, pain may worsen in patients with chronic pain, especially fibromyalgia, prone to anxiety and depression. Due to the fact that many occupational sectors, which concern the whole society, have come to a halt, being obliged to live a sedentary life due to inability to perform their profession may have caused an increase in the body mass index of people. During the pandemic days, our concentration and health services may have shifted from the diseases of our branch to COVID-19 and the branch health services offered may be disrupted. However, the call of the country administrators to stay home and the concept of social isolation caused the routine outpatient clinic follow-ups to be delayed. Lack of sufficient data on how fibromyalgia patients were affected in previous pandemics and the pandemic we are in, the disease levels of the patients in this period, restrictions in their social environment, difficulties in reaching the doctor may have exacerbated the course of the diseases. In this study, the effects of the symptoms related to the diseases of patients with fibromyalgia during the COVID-19 pandemic, their limitations in their social and business life, the need for different drugs, stress levels and the effect of the pandemic on the disease activity will be evaluated. The data to be obtained can be a guiding resource for us in the ongoing pandemic and in the fight against future pandemics due to the mutated genetic structure of the virus.