AbstractBackgroundAsthma is a disease of the lung and a systemic disease. Functional disorders are associated with multiple systemic abnormalities that have been explained by complexity models. The aim was to test the similarity in type and aetiology between the extra‐pulmonary symptoms of severe asthma and the symptoms of fibromyalgia.MethodsOne Hundred patients recruited from a specialist severe asthma clinic and 1751 people reporting different functional disorder diagnoses recruited via the internet completed the same 60‐item questionnaire. Symptom patterns were compared between groups using a new measure, the symptom pattern similarity index where 0 = no relationship, 1 = identical patterns between groups.ResultsSevere asthma patients report numerous extra‐pulmonary symptoms. The similarity index between the symptom pattern of the asthma patients with other groups was irritable bowel syndrome = 0.54, chronic fatigue syndrome = 0.69, and fibromyalgia = 0.75. The index between fibromyalgia and asthma patients with the most and least frequent extra‐pulmonary symptoms was 0.81 and 0.55 respectively.ConclusionsPatients with severe asthma have numerous extra‐pulmonary symptoms similar in type and pattern to the symptoms of fibromyalgia. The similarity of the symptom pattern between asthma and fibromyalgia increases as the number of extra‐pulmonary symptoms increases as predicted by network theory and previously shown to be the case with other functional disorders. These findings support the hypothesis that functional disorders and extra‐pulmonary asthma symptoms have a common complexity or network aetiology. Evidence based behavioural interventions for fibromyalgia may be helpful for patients with severe asthma reporting extra‐pulmonary symptoms.

中文翻译：

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症状和机制相似的证据：严重哮喘的肺外症状和纤维肌痛的多症状表现

摘要背景哮喘是一种肺部疾病，也是一种全身性疾病。功能障碍与多种系统异常相关，这些异常已通过复杂性模型进行了解释。目的是测试严重哮喘的肺外症状与纤维肌痛症状之间类型和病因学的相似性。方法从严重哮喘专科诊所招募的 100 名患者和通过互联网招募的 1751 名报告不同功能障碍诊断的人完成了相同的 60 项调查问卷。使用新的测量方法（症状模式相似性指数）对组间症状模式进行比较，其中 0 = 无关系，1 = 组间模式相同。结果严重哮喘患者报告有许多肺外症状。哮喘患者与其他组的症状模式相似指数为肠易激综合征=0.54、慢性疲劳综合征=0.69、纤维肌痛=0.75。纤维肌痛和哮喘患者最常见和最不常见肺外症状之间的指数分别为 0.81 和 0.55。结论严重哮喘患者有许多肺外症状，其类型和模式与纤维肌痛症状相似。正如网络理论所预测的那样，随着肺外症状数量的增加，哮喘和纤维肌痛之间症状模式的相似性也随之增加，并且之前的研究表明其他功能性疾病也是如此。这些发现支持功能障碍和肺外哮喘症状具有共同的复杂性或网络病因学的假设。基于证据的纤维肌痛行为干预可能对报告肺外症状的严重哮喘患者有帮助。