Number of fibromyalgia tender points is associated with health status in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the association between fibromyalgia (FM) tender points (TP) and health status in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 173 SLE patients enrolled in the Hopkins Lupus Cohort. Patients were examined for FM TP and asked to complete the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) at the same visit.
RESULTS: We found 38.2% of patients had no TP, 44.5% had 1-10 TP, and 17.3% had > or = 11 TP. No significant association was found between the number of FM TP and age, sex, race, or level of education. The mean score of the HAQ was 1.3 +/- 0.4. There were significant associations between FM TP and HAQ (no TP 1.1 +/- 0.3, 1-10 TP 1.4 +/- 0.4, > or = 11 TP 1.6 +/- 0.6; p = 0.0001).
CONCLUSION: A strong association between the number of FM TP and health status was found in patients with SLE. The number of TP, and not just the presence/absence of FM, is associated with health status in SLE.