Gene-Physical activity interaction with pain, fatigue, and resilience in women with fibromyalgia = Interacción entre genes y actividad física con dolor, fatiga y resiliencia en mujeres con fibromialgia

Abstract

People with fibromyalgia often experience chronic pain and other non-painful symptoms (e.g., fatigue symptoms). This disease has not cure yet. Thus, adaptation to the disease is strived for. In the dynamic process of adaptation, people’s strengths play a crucial role. Family aggregation suggests, but does not conclude, genetic susceptibility to fibromyalgia. In fibromyalgia, lifestyle, and specifically physical activity plays a key role in the treatment and development of the disease. However, previous research did not consider the interplay of genetic and lifestyle factors. From a clinical and public health perspective, to understand the interplay between genetics and physical activity on the mains phenotypes of fibromyalgia is of interest. The overall aim of the present Doctoral Thesis was to enhance the understanding of the genetics of fibromyalgia, paying attention to the potential gene-gene and gene-lifestyle (i.e., time spend on physical activity and sedentary behaviour) interactions, and their association with pain, fatigue, and resilience. To do so, 64 polymorphisms of 34 fibromyalgia candidate-genes were studied in a well-characterised sample of southern Spanish women. The findings of the present Doctoral Thesis informed that susceptibility to fibromyalgia and its core symptoms (i.e., pain, fatigue, and low resilience) may have a genetic component, which is mostly related to dysfunctions in neurotransmission. Moreover, the sodium voltagegated channel alpha subunit 9 (SCN9A) gene was the one that showed the most robust associations with the phenotype of fibromyalgia. The SCN9A gene encodes the Na(v)1.7 sodium channel, which suggests that blocking the gain-of-function of this type of channel may lead to beneficial effects on living with fibromyalgia. Furthermore, the interaction gene-lifestyle was related to the phenotype of fibromyalgia. In conclusion, an active lifestyle may help to modulate an unfavourable genetic predisposition to pain, fatigue, and resilience.