Fibromyalgia Statistics

FIBROMYALGIA

Fibromyalgia is an often misunderstood, even unrecognized, disorder that causes widespread muscle pain and tenderness which tends to come and go, and move about the body. This common and chronic condition can also be associated with fatigue, sleep disturbances and memory problems.

Fast Facts
Fibromyalgia affects two to four percent of the population, predominantly women.

There are no laboratory or other diagnostic tests for fibromyalgia so it must be diagnosed based on patient symptoms.

What fibromyalgia is

Fibromyalgia is pain and tenderness in the so-called "tender points" are the defining characteristics of fibromyalgia, so medical care providers focus on the features of the pain to distinguish it from other rheumatic disorders.

Fibromyalgia is a clinical syndrome defined by chronic widespread muscular pain, fatigue and tenderness. Many people with fibromyalgia also experience additional symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bladder, cognitive and memory problems (often called “fibro fog”), temporomandibular joint disorder, pelvic pain, restless leg syndrome, sensitivity to noise and temperature, and anxiety and depression. These symptoms can vary in intensity and, like the pain of fibromyalgia, wax and wane over time.

What causes fibromyalgia

No one knows what causes fibromyalgia. However, we do know that people with fibromyalgia may have abnormal levels of Substance P, a chemical that helps transmit and amplify pain signals to and from the brain. For the person with fibromyalgia, it is as though the “volume control” is turned up too high in the brain's pain processing areas. Current studies are underway to examine how the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) process pain and the role Substance P plays.

Genetics also appear to play a role leading to a familial tendency to develop fibromyalgia. So does everyday life exposure to physical, emotional, or environmental stressors that may trigger the initiation of fibromyalgia symptoms
Information couresty of www.rheumatology.org.

Prevalance Rate for Fibromyalgia: approx 1 in 73 or 1.36% or 3.7 million people in USA

Broken down by Gender: 0.5% of men and 3.4% of women
The above according to the American College of Rheumatology

According to the National Foundation for Fibromyalgia, as many as 12 million
Americans suffer from FM but remain undiagnosed because of its elusive nature. Fibromyalgia is most common in women between the ages of 20 and 50, although it also affects men, the elderly, and children. Children with FM are often mistakenly diagnosed with growing pains or behavioral problems, and FM is commonly mistaken for chronic fatigue syndrome since the symptoms of the two diseases are so similar.

There are no laboratory or other diagnostic tests for fibromyalgia so it must be diagnosed based on patient symptoms.