Previous pain experience in women with fibromyalgia and inflammatory arthritis and nonpainful controls

To examine the frequency of commonly occurring pain and adverse experiences throughout life by self-report in women with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic inflammatory arthritis (IA) and nonpainful healthy women.

Fifty-one patients with FM and 44 with IA and 52 nonpainful healthy controls were consecutively interviewed in a tertiary clinic setting regarding the occurrence of lifetime common pain experience and adverse events, as well as a family history of FM and/or a childhood pain environment.

Patients with FM reported significantly more irritable bowel syndrome, migraine headaches, severe menstrual pain, physical and psychological trauma affecting well being, family history of FM, and family pain environment than subjects with IA or controls. Both patient groups had more adult hospitalizations and surgeries than the controls.

Patients with FM report a high rate of varied pain and adverse experiences throughout life. This real or perceived experience of pain supports the concept that FM is a lifetime disorder of pain processing.