Smoking is Associated with Reduced Leptin and Neuropeptide Y Levels and Higher Pain Experience in Patients with Fibromyalgia
Figure 1
Clinical measurements of pain in patients with fibromyalgia. By smoking habits, the patients were assigned as smokers (SM, ), ex-smokers (Ex-SM, ), and nonsmokers (non-SM, ). (a) Pain distribution was evaluated in 18 standard tender points (TP). (b) Pain intensity was measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS, 0–100 mm). (c) Pressure pain threshold was measured using an algometer. Plots indicate median, interquartile range, and values. The comparison between the groups was done by Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s post hoc test. Scatterplots show correlation of serum levels of neuropeptide Y (NpY) with TP number (d) and with pressure pain threshold values (e). The Spearman’s correlation test was applied.
