Fibromyalgia - Risk Factors

Highlights	Conditions with Similar Symptoms	Medications
Introduction	Prognosis	Resources
Causes	Treatment	References
Risk Factors	Lifestyle Changes
Diagnosis	Behavioral Therapy

Risk Factors

An estimated ten million Americans have fibromyalgia. Some evidence suggests that a number of factors may make people more susceptibleto fibromyalgia. These risk factors include being female, having had difficult experiences in childhood, having a psychological vulnerability to stress, and coming from a very stressful culture or environment.

Women

Nine out of 10 fibromyalgia patients are women. Women may be more prone to develop fibromyalgia during menopause.

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Age

The disorder usually occurs in people between 20 to 60 years of age, though it can occur at any time. Some studies have noted peaks around age 35; others note it is most common in middle-aged women. In one trial, fibromyalgia increased with age and had a prevalence of over 7% among people in their 60s and 70s.

Juvenile Primary Fibromyalgia. This variant of fibromyalgia appears in adolescents, typically after 13 with a peak incidence at age 14. It is uncommon, but studies indicate that its incidence may be increasing. One study found that 1.2% of school children, all girls, met the criteria for fibromyalgia. Other studies have found an even higher prevalence of fibromyalgia in children. Symptoms are similar to adult fibromyalgia, but outcomes appear to be better in young people.

Family Factors

Studies report a higher incidence of fibromyalgia among family members. It is not clear if genetic or psychological factors, or both, are involved.

One study reported that 28% of the children of mothers with fibromyalgia also develop the disorder. Offspring who developed fibromyalgia were no more likely to have psychological disorders than those who did not.
Another study noted that 66% of parents of children with fibromyalgia reported some sort of chronic pain, and about 10% had fibromyalgia itself.

Conditions That Commonly Occur in Fibromyalgia Patients

A number of conditions overlap or often co-exist with fibromyalgia that have similar symptoms. It is not clear if these conditions or others are risk factors for fibromyalgia, are direct causes, have common causes, or have no relationship at all with CFS.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is a significant overlap between fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). In a 2003 study, for example, 43% of CFS patients also were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As with fibromyalgia, the cause of CFS is unknown. Both disorders can be diagnosed by a doctor only on the basis of symptoms reported by the patient and cannot be confirmed by laboratory tests or other objective measures. The two disorders share most of the same symptoms. They are even treated almost identically. The differences are primarily the following:

Pain with tender points is the primary symptom in fibromyalgia. (Some patients with CFS exhibit similar tender pressure points. However, muscle pain is less prominent in patients with CFS.)
Fatigue is the dominant symptom in CFS. It is severe and not relieved by rest or sleep and not the result of excessive work or exercise.