20.500.12556/DiRROS-28884 Sensory modulation disorder as a diagnostic marker in fibromyalgia: associations with stress and symptom severity Background/Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a nociplastic pain disorder marked by altered central nervous system processing and abnormal sensory modulation. Diagnosis remains largely symptom-based and lacks objective biomarkers. Sensory modulation disorder (SMD)—impaired regulation of responses to non-noxious input—may represent a clinically relevant diagnostic dimension. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence/diagnostic value of SMD in FM, examine links with symptom severity and stress, and assess its potential for patient stratification. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 182 adults were enrolled (104 FM; 78 controls). Standardized instruments included the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Group comparisons, regression, and discriminant analyses evaluated SMD profiles. Results: Compared with controls, FM adults showed higher sensory sensitivity and avoidance (both p < 0.001), lower sensation seeking (p = 0.002), and modestly higher low registration (p = 0.027). Elevated SMD correlated with greater symptom severity and perceived stress. Stress significantly predicted FM’s impact (β = 0.57, p < 0.001). A discriminant model achieved 84% apparent in-sample accuracy for classifying FM severity from sensory/stress profiles. Conclusions: Sensory modulation abnormalities are highly prevalent in FM and show meaningful associations with symptom severity and stress, suggesting that SMD could represent a potential diagnostic dimension and stratification aid. These findings should be interpreted within an exploratory, cross-sectional design. Incorporating sensory modulation assessment into FM evaluation may improve diagnostic precision, reduce delays, and guide individualized management. Confirmation in larger longitudinal studies is warranted. fibromyalgia sensation disorders biomarkers/diagnosis discriminant analysis psychological stress chronic pain questionnaires central nervous system diagnosis differential diagnostic markers fibromialgija motnje občutljivosti biomarkeri/diagnoza diskriminantna analiza psihološki stres kronična bolečina vprašalniki centralni živčni sistem diagnoza diferencialna diagnostični markerji true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2026-04-10 13:52:44 2026-04-10 13:52:44 2026-04-11 03:54:50 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 29. 10. 2025; 15 str. issue 21, [article no.] 2700 Vol. 15 24. Oct. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 616.7-009.7 2075-4418 10.3390/diagnostics15212700 255237635 RAZ_Goubar_Patricija_2025.pdf RAZ_Goubar_Patricija_2025.pdf 1 E0F173296D9E3AA1733888A9DB3191F6 ac246319dd64a583285203e8040f2b9300a7d88348fc83304be1e9c4f79bd401 eb0f9644-34d3-11f1-b941-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43066 https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/21/2700 1 c9f835e8-34d3-11f1-b941-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43065 Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana 0 0 0