ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between Type D personality, depression, perceived social support, and disease activity in women with fibromyalgia (FM). DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred and forty women applied to the physical medicine rehabilitation outpatient clinic between October 2019 and February 2020 who also had been diagnosed with FM were recruited. Age, occupation, marital status, chronic diseases, body mass index, duration of FM, smoking and alcohol use, sleep patterns, difficulty with daily work and self-care, physical therapy, and rehabilitation status were all recorded as demographic data of subjects. All patients participating in the study were evaluated with a Type D Personality Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). FINDINGS: It has been determined that more than half of the women diagnosed with FM had the disease for more than 2 years, the average age was 46, 70% of patients were 40 years or older, more than half were overweight or obese and 63.6% had Type D personality. Eighty-nine women diagnosed with FM had a Type D personality and a significant correlation was found between Type D personality and depression, VAS, FIQ, and the subparameters of MSPSS. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The determination of a relationship between the Type D personality and depression, VAS, FIQ, and MSPSS in women with FM plays a very important role in the care of FM in terms of treatment and prognosis and it can be said that determining the personality traits of such patients may be beneficial for clinicians.