Clin Exp Rheumatol
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Fibromyalgia (FM) can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms and sexual dysfunction. However, no data exist regarding anxiety and depression status in spouses of sexually active women with FM. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate whether emotional status are affected in spouses of women with FM, and to search whether there was a relationship between sexual dysfunction of women with FM and emotional status of their spouses. ⋯ FM can cause deterioration of emotional status and lead to sexual dysfunction. Also, psychological status could be affected in spouses of women with FM at reproductive age, and the severity of depression of their spouses was significantly correlated to that of women with FM. However, this affection in psychological status did not relate to sexual problems of the women with FM.
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Previous research suggests that social support has beneficial effects for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Yet, recent studies suggest that sociocultural differences have implications for whether or not the individuals use social support to cope with stressful events. Given the stressful nature of a chronic disabling disease, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of structural and functional facets of social support with quality of life (QoL) in Greek RA patients. ⋯ In Greek RA patients, quality of social support predicts quality of life above and beyond disease activity, demographic factors and social integration. Structural aspects of social support were not significant predictors of QoL, in line with previous research on cultural differences in how people utilise their social networks.