Low serotonin levels = worse fibromyalgia symptoms

Health of people with fibromyalgia is more likely to improve when serotonin levels are normal, says a study in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.

Serotonin is a chemical produced by nerve cells that contributes to feelings of wellbeing and happiness but is also involved in cognition, reward, learning, memory and other processes.

Scientists evaluated the relationship between vitamin D and serotonin levels and fibromyalgia severity in 40 people who had their medical history taken, a physical examination and lab testing.

The results showed that 42.5% of the volunteers were considered to have mild/moderate fibromyalgia and the rest had severe/extreme fibromyalgia.

People with severe fibromyalgia were more likely to have lower serotonin levels. The lower the levels of serotonin, the worse the impact of fibromyalgia was found to be.

But the same wasn’t true for vitamin D levels.

“The findings of this study show that the improved health of fibromyalgia patients is associated with normal serotonin levels,” the scientists conclude.

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