Adult Autism Subthreshold spectrum correlates to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder spectrum in patients with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia (FM) is an increasingly prevalent disorder that usually shows a chronic course and a disappointing therapeutic response in which psychiatric features seem to play a relevant role. Most recently, the relationship between FM and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has gained interest since several studies demonstrated a higher rate of PTSD, both full blown and partial, and Post-traumatic Stress spectrum symptoms. While the relationship between higher burden of autistic symptoms and PTSD is reported in literature, the relationship between FM and autism spectrum symptoms is still unexplored. In this study we investigated both post-traumatic and autistic spectrum in a sample of FM patients with the aim of exploring the relationships between these dimensions.