Fibromyalgia - Risk Factors

Risk Factors

As many as 6 million Americans have fibromyalgia. Some evidence suggests that several factors may make people more susceptible to 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.

Age

The disorder usually occurs in people 20 - 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, cases of fibromyalgia increased with age, and reached a frequency of over 7% among people in their 60s and 70s.

Juvenile Primary Fibromyalgia. This variant of fibromyalgia appears in adolescents, typically after age 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 frequency 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

Several conditions overlap or often co-exist with fibromyalgia, and have similar symptoms. It is not clear if these conditions cause fibromyalgia, are risk factors for the disorder, have causes in common with fibromyalgia, or have no relationship at all with it.

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 had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. As with fibromyalgia, the cause of CFS is unknown. Both disorders can be diagnosed by a doctor based only on 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: