Mobile App Shows Promise in Managing Fibromyalgia Symptoms

TOPLINE:
A smartphone app that delivers acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a type of cognitive behavioral therapy, improves overall well-being and reduces the severity of pain, fatigue, sleep issues, and depression to a greater extent than daily symptom tracking in patients with fibromyalgia.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers conducted the phase 3 PROSPER-FM trial at 25 community sites in the United States to assess the efficacy and safety of digital ACT for patients with fibromyalgia.
A total of 275 adult patients aged 22-75 years with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to either the digital ACT group (n = 140) or the active control group (n = 135) for 12 weeks.
Patients in the digital ACT group received a self-guided, smartphone-delivered program in which they learned and practiced the core ACT skills of acceptance, values, mindfulness, defusion, self as context, and willingness and committed action to build psychologic flexibility, while the control group underwent daily symptom tracking and received educational materials.
The primary endpoint was the response rate on the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) at week 12, which is an indicator of patient well-being.
The secondary endpoints included changes in the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-R) total score and pain intensity, pain interference, and sleep interference scores.
TAKEAWAY:
At week 12, 71% of the patients in the digital ACT group responded with a minimally improved or better change in the PGIC response compared with only 22% of the patients in the control group (P < .0001).
The digital ACT group showed a significant reduction in the impact of fibromyalgia, with a between-group effect size of d = 0.65 (P < .0001) at week 12. The FIQ-R total score significantly improved within 3 weeks of using the self-guided digital ACT app.
The use of digital ACT also demonstrated positive effects on the levels of weekly pain intensity (P = .001) and depression (P < .0001), compared with the control group.
No serious adverse effects related to the app were reported, and both groups demonstrated high rates of adherence, with most (72%) participants in the digital ACT group completing at least 42 sessions.
IN PRACTICE:
“The results found in the study are essential for professionals who care for patients with fibromyalgia as they present a new viable treatment alternative,” Guilherme Torres Vilarino, PhD, Santa Catarina State University, Florianópolis, Brazil, wrote in an accompanying editorial.
SOURCE:
This study was led by R. Michael Gendreau, MD, PhD, Gendreau Consulting, Poway, California. It was published online on July 8, 2024, in The Lancet.
LIMITATIONS:
The study population predominantly consisted of women and White individuals, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to more diverse populations. Additionally, the study was conducted in the United States, and the results may thus not be applicable to other countries with different racial, ethnic, educational, and economic characteristics. The study duration was 12 weeks, and the long-term benefits of digital ACT have not yet been shown.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was funded by Swing Therapeutics. Seven authors declared having stock options and/or receiving salary from Swing Therapeutics. Other authors reported having many ties with several sources, including Swing Therapeutics.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
 
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