In fibromyalgia syndrome-affected patients, probiotic supplementation improves sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and pain scores, while prebiotic supplementation enhances pain scores and sleep quality.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial aimed to investigate the impact of probiotic and prebiotic interventions on psychological distress (specifically anxiety and depression), quality of life, sleep, and pain among individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome.

A total of 53 female volunteers diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome were enrolled in the study. They were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) The probiotics group consisting of 18 subjects receiving a daily dose of 4 × 1010 colony forming units (CFUs), (2) the prebiotics group comprising 17 individuals receiving a daily dose of 10 g Inulin, and (3) a placebo group with 18 volunteers receiving a placebo for 8 weeks.

The mean ages of the groups were similar, and no clinically meaningful differences were observed between the groups. The effect of fibromyalgia syndrome on quality of life, quality of sleep, pain levels,  anxiety, and depressive symptoms was assessed at baseline, as well as at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the intervention.

In comparison with the initial measurements, the administration of probiotics showed a significant reduction in the scores of the Beck Depression Index (BDI), Beck Anxiety Index (BAI), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). However, prebiotic supplementation only led to a significant decrease in PSQI scores. Furthermore, participants who received probiotic treatment exhibited a significantly lower visual analogue scale (VAS) score in comparison to those who received the placebo treatment following the interventions.

Probiotic supplementation led to significant improvements in sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and pain scores when compared to the baseline measurements among individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome. On the other hand, prebiotic supplementation showed remarkable improvements in sleep quality and pain scores.

The utilization of prebiotics and probiotics presents a favorable approach to managing the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome patients and could potentially serve as a significant strategy in addressing diseases associated with fibromyalgia syndrome.