The Burden of Fibromyalgia in the US
Author Information
Author(s): Caroline Schaefer, Arthi Chandran, Meghan Hufstader, Rebecca Baik, Michael McNett, Don Goldenberg, Robert Gerwin, Gergana Zlateva
Primary Institution: Covance Market Access Services Inc.
Hypothesis
How does the severity of fibromyalgia impact patients' symptoms, quality of life, and productivity?
Conclusion
Fibromyalgia imposes a substantial humanistic burden on patients in the United States, leading to significant productivity loss, especially among those with more severe symptoms.
Supporting Evidence
- 92% of subjects were prescribed medication for fibromyalgia.
- 50% of subjects reported some disruption in their employment due to fibromyalgia.
- Subjects with worse fibromyalgia severity reported significantly increased pain severity, fatigue, and sleep disturbance.
Takeaway
Fibromyalgia makes people feel a lot of pain and tiredness, which can make it hard for them to work and enjoy life. The worse the fibromyalgia, the harder it is for them.
Methodology
This cross-sectional observational study recruited 203 fibromyalgia patients from 20 physician offices and assessed their symptoms and quality of life using various questionnaires.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to voluntary participation of practices and the requirement for patients to have experienced pain in the past 24 hours.
Limitations
The study may not be generalizable to all fibromyalgia patients as it only included those actively seeking care and may have biased the sample towards more severe cases.
Participant Demographics
Mean age was 47.9 years, with 95% female participants.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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