Did you like our post from last month about Shaili Rathod’s research project experience? If so, dive into our new post from Ida Bixho, a second year Global Regulatory Affairs: Clinical Documentation/Medical Writing fellow with MCPHS/Sanofi Genzyme to learn about her experience.
What is the title of your research project?
The Prevalence of Psychiatric and Chronic Pain Comorbidities in Fibromyalgia: an ACTTION Systematic Review
Can you tell us about your project?
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic widespread pain condition that overlaps with multiple comorbid health conditions and contributes to considerable patient distress. The aim of this review was to provide a systematic overview of psychiatric and chronic pain comorbidities among patients diagnosed with FM and to inform the development of recommendations for the design of clinical trials. The results of the review suggest that depression and chronic pain conditions involving head/jaw pain and IBS were elevated among FM patients compared to other conditions in the clinic-based studies. In contrast, anxiety-related disorders were much less common.
Why did you decide to pursue this topic for your research project?
I have researched pain medicine in the past and co-authored multiple articles on opioids. As such, I wanted to continue my research in the same therapeutic area.
Did you experience any hurdles while working on the project?
I worked on this project with other co-authors. Whenever there were uncertainties in our method’s process, we held meetings to collaborate as a group.
Have you presented your research project? If so, where?
This article was submitted for publication in the Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism journal.
Citation: Kleykamp, B. A., Ferguson, M. C., McNicol, E., Bixho, I., Arnold, L. M., Edwards, R. R., Fillingim R., Grol-Prokopczyk H., Turk D.C., & Dworkin, R. H. (2021). The prevalence of psychiatric and chronic pain comorbidities in fibromyalgia: An ACTTION systematic review. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 166-174).
Do you have any advice for any fellow or prospective candidate who wants to pursue a research project?
I would recommend researching a topic that is of interest to you.
MCPHS Biopharmaceutical Fellows' Network 