Fibromyalgia May Be Underdiagnosed, More So in Men

(HealthDay News) – Fibromyalgia may be underdiagnosed in the general population, particularly in men, according to research published online Nov. 30 in Arthritis Care & Research.

To estimate the prevalence of fibromyalgia in Olmsted County, MN, Ann Vincent, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and colleagues used two methods: a review of medical records for 3,410 potential fibromyalgia patients to estimate diagnosed fibromyalgia in clinical practice, and a random mail survey for potential fibromyalgia in 830 respondents (27.6%) among 2,994 adults.

The researchers found that, using the first method, 1,115 patients had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, giving an age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed fibromyalgia of 1.1%. Using the second method, 44 adults met the criteria for fibromyalgia, giving an age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of fibromyalgia in the general population of this county of 6.4%. Using the first method, the age-adjusted prevalence was significantly higher for women than men (2.00 vs. 0.14%).

“Our results suggest that patients, particularly men, who meet the fibromyalgia research survey criteria are unlikely to have been given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia,” Vincent and colleagues conclude.

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