Who gets fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia affects between 2–3 percent of the U.S. population, with similar numbers worldwide. That means between six and 10 million people in the United States have fibromyalgia; more than lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease combined.

Fibromyalgia predominantly affects women; only about 10 percent of those diagnosed are men. However, in my clinical experience, it seems the proportion of men is probably a bit higher than that, making up about 15–20 percent of the fibromyalgia population.

The typical person who develops fibromyalgia is an otherwise healthy young woman in her twenties or thirties. While it usually affects people in this age range, I have diagnosed it in teenagers and in 80-year-olds. Symptoms tend to develop gradually over a few months, and often begin after a trauma such as a car accident.

Nearly half of all fibromyalgia patients report that their symptoms developed within six months after a traumatic event, such as a fall, car accident, or physical assault.

There seems to be a genetic tendency towards developing fibromyalgia. A clustering of this illness in families has been described—close relatives of people with fibromyalgia are eight times more likely to have fibromyalgia themselves.

Fibromyalgia is also more common in people who have system-wide inflammatory disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus.

Sources: FASCIA: Clinical Applications for Health and Human Performance by Mark Lindsay For current research information: www.fasciaresearch.com , Liptan, Ginevra (2011-01-31). Figuring out Fibromyalgia: Current Science and the Most Effective Treatments