{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T12:46:42Z","timestamp":1782478002334,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]],"date-time":"2025-10-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761264000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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)\u2014impaired regulation of responses to non-noxious input\u2014may 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 &lt; 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\u2019s impact (\u03b2 = 0.57, p &lt; 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15212700","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]],"date-time":"2025-10-27T07:31:58Z","timestamp":1761550318000},"page":"2700","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Sensory Modulation Disorder as a Diagnostic Marker in Fibromyalgia: Associations with Stress and Symptom Severity"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7420-9460","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patricija","family":"Goubar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Alma Mater Europaea University, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6283-4348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Toma\u017e","family":"Velnar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Alma Mater Europaea University, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia"},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15022","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2015.22","article-title":"Fibromyalgia","volume":"1","author":"Ablin","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat. 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