BACKGROUND: Well-established gender differences in the clinical picture of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) have been suggested. However, studies on gender differences in demographic and clinical features of FMS have contradictory results. Their significance is limited by the small number of patients included and selection bias of single settings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare demographic characteristics (age, family status) and clinical variables (duration of chronic pain and FMS diagnosis, tender point count, number of pain sites, and somatic and depressive symptoms) of male and female patients in different settings (general population, FMS self-help organization, and different clinical settings). METHODS: FMS was diagnosed according to survey criteria in the general population and in the self-help organization setting and by 1990 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology in the clinical settings. Tender point examination was performed according to the manual tender point survey protocol in clinical settings. Somatic and depressive symptoms were assessed by validated questionnaires. RESULTS: A total of 1023 patients (885 female, 138 male) were included in the analysis. Compared with male participants, female participants reported a longer duration of chronic widespread pain (P = 0.009) and time since FMS diagnosis (P = 0.05), and they had a higher tender point count (P = 0.04). There were no gender differences in age, family status, number of pain sites, or somatic and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: We found no relevant gender differences in the clinical picture of FMS. The assumption of well-established gender differences in the clinical picture of FMS could not be supported.
BACKGROUND: Well-established gender differences in the clinical picture of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) have been suggested. However, studies on gender differences in demographic and clinical features of FMS have contradictory results. Their significance is limited by the small number of patients included and selection bias of single settings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare demographic characteristics (age, family status) and clinical variables (duration of chronic pain and FMS diagnosis, tender point count, number of pain sites, and somatic and depressive symptoms) of male and female patients in different settings (general population, FMS self-help organization, and different clinical settings). METHODS: FMS was diagnosed according to survey criteria in the general population and in the self-help organization setting and by 1990 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology in the clinical settings. Tender point examination was performed according to the manual tender point survey protocol in clinical settings. Somatic and depressive symptoms were assessed by validated questionnaires. RESULTS: A total of 1023 patients (885 female, 138 male) were included in the analysis. Compared with male participants, female participants reported a longer duration of chronic widespread pain (P = 0.009) and time since FMS diagnosis (P = 0.05), and they had a higher tender point count (P = 0.04). There were no gender differences in age, family status, number of pain sites, or somatic and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: We found no relevant gender differences in the clinical picture of FMS. The assumption of well-established gender differences in the clinical picture of FMS could not be supported.
Authors: W Eich; W Häuser; B Arnold; W Jäckel; M Offenbächer; F Petzke; M Schiltenwolf; M Settan; C Sommer; T Tölle; N Uçeyler; P Henningsen Journal: Schmerz Date: 2012-06 Impact factor: 1.107
Authors: Melissa E Martenson; Omar I Halawa; Karen J Tonsfeldt; Charlene A Maxwell; Nora Hammack; Scott D Mist; Mark E Pennesi; Robert M Bennett; Kim M Mauer; Kim D Jones; Mary M Heinricher Journal: Pain Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 7.926
Authors: Mary-Ann Fitzcharles; Yoram Shir; Jacob N Ablin; Dan Buskila; Howard Amital; Peter Henningsen; Winfried Häuser Journal: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Date: 2013-11-26 Impact factor: 2.629
Authors: Víctor Segura-Jiménez; Fernando Estévez-López; Alberto Soriano-Maldonado; Inmaculada C Álvarez-Gallardo; Manuel Delgado-Fernández; Jonatan R Ruiz; Virginia A Aparicio Journal: Pain Res Manag Date: 2016-10-27 Impact factor: 3.037
Authors: Giovanni Berardi; Jonathon W Senefeld; Sandra K Hunter; Marie K Hoeger Bement Journal: Eur J Appl Physiol Date: 2021-02-22 Impact factor: 3.346
Authors: Ruth Ann Marrie; Scott B Patten; Jamie Greenfield; Lawrence W Svenson; Nathalie Jette; Helen Tremlett; Christina Wolfson; Sharon Warren; Joanne Profetto-McGrath; John D Fisk; James Blanchard; Patricia Caetano; Lawrence Elliott; Bo Nancy Yu; Virender Bhan; Larry Svenson Journal: Brain Behav Date: 2016-06-29 Impact factor: 2.708